CBSE Class 11 Economics Environment And Sustainable Development

Question. Which of the following is a component of environment?
(a) Living elements only
(b) Non-living elements only
(c) Both (a) and (b)
(d) None of these
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is not considered as an element of environment?
(a) Air
(b) Land
(c) Weather
(d) Electricity
Answer. D

Question. Which of the following is a reason of noise pollution?
(a) Domestic sewerage
(b) Industrial waste
(c) Industrial machines
(d) Emission of gases
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is a cause of environmental degradation?
(a) Population explosion
(b) Increasing urbanisation
(c) Rapid industrialisation
(d) All of these
Answer. D

Question. Sustainable development is that development which satisfies the need of:
(a) present generation only
(b) future generation only
(c) both (a) and (b)
(d) none of these
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is a necessary condition of sustainable development?
(a) Increase in the quality of life
(b) Reduction in the level of pollution
(c) Conservation of the stock of natural capital
(d) All of these
Answer. D

Question. An increase in real income along with equitable distribution is called:
(a) economic growth
(b) economic development
(c) sustainable development
(d) none of these
Answer. B

Question. Which of the following statements highlight the significance of environment?
(a) It offers resources for production
(b) It enhances quality of life
(c) It sustains life
(d) All of these
Answer. D

Question. The basic problem related to environment is:
(a) problem of pollution
(b) problem of excessive exploitation of natural resources
(c) problem of degeneration
(d) both (a) and (b)
Answer. D

Question. Which of the following factors contribute to air pollution?
(a) Smoke emitted by industries
(b) Poisonous gases emitted in the process of chemical treatment of the materia ls
(c) Emission of gases by motor vehicles
(d) All of these
Answer. D

Question. Industrial waste streaming into the rivers contributes to:
(a) air pollution
(b) water pollution
(c) land pollution
(d) noise pollution
Answer. B

Question. Principal cause of environmental pollution is:
(a) population explosion
(b) rapid industrialisation
(c) increased urbanisation
(d) all of these
Answer. D

Question. Which of the following is the strategy for sustainable development?
(a) Integrated rural development
(b) Shift to organic farming
(c) Output-efficient technology
(d) Both (a) and (b)
Answer. D

Question. Which of the following statements is correct:
a) Global Warming is entirely a natural phenomenon
b) Global warming is simply an another term form green house effect
c) Global warming is the rise in average temperature at the earth surface
d) Global warming is caused ozone depletion
Answer. C

Question. Absorptive capacity is defined as :
a) Ability of the environment to absorb degradation
b) Resource generation within the assimilating capacity of the environment
c) Average number of organisms living in a given environment
d) The minimum population surviving in the world as a whole
Answer. A

Question. Which of the following factors does not contribute to global warming?
a) Deforestation
b) Air pollution
c) Burning of petroleum and coal products
d) Hydrogen gas released in animal waste
Answer: D

Question. Ozone depletion refers to the phenomenon of reduction in the amount of ozone in the?
a) Exosphere
b) Stratosphere
c) Troposphere
d) Mesosphere
Answer: B

Question.  __________________is the total planetary inheritance and the totality of all resources that . It includes all the biotic and abiotic factors that influence each other. ( Fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer: Environment

Question.  ______________ resources refers to that type of resources that can be utilized without being exhausted. Such as trees, fish etc. ( fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer: Renewable

Question. _______________resources are those resources which get exhausted with extraction. Such as coal, fuel, etc. ( Renewable/Non renewable) ( Fill up the blank with correct option)
Answer: Non renewable
Renewable resources are those resources which get exhausted with extraction. Such as coal, fuel, etc.

Question. The problem of ozone depletion is caused by high levels of ________ and __________ compounds in the stratosphere. ( Fill up the blanks with correct options)
a) Chlorine and Bromine
b) Chlorine and Carbon
c) Silicon and Bromine
d) Silicon and Hydrogen
Answer: A

Question. What is the full form of CFCs?
a) Chlorofluorocarbons
b) Chloridefluorocarbons
c) Chlorine-florine-carbons
d) Carbo Fluorocarbons
Answer: A

Question. Identify the correct sequence of alternatives given in Column II by matching them with respective terms in Column I:
         COLUMN I                                                                            COLUMN II
a. Emphasis on protecting future generation                              i) Montreal Protocol
b. Protecting Trees from cutting                                                  ii) Un conference Kyoto, Japan
c.Fighting Global warming by reducing greenhouse gases        iii) Brundtland Commission
d. Banned the use of CFCs to protect ozone layer                    iv) Appiko
Choose the correct sequence.
a) ii, i, iv, iii
b) iii, iv, ii, i
c) iii, ii, iv, iii
d) ii, iv, iii, i
Answer: B

Question. As a result of depletion of the ozone layer, more ________________radiation comes to Earth and causes damage to living organisms. ( Choose the correct answer)
Answer: Ultra Violet

Question. Which of the following is not the function of environment?
a) Supply of resources
b) assimilating waste
c)Extraction of resources
d) Sustains life
Answer: C

Question. The Deccan Plateau black sol is particularly suitable for the cultivation of?
a) Jute
b) Maize
c) Textile
d) Cotton
Answer: D

Question. The Chipkoo Movement, for protection of the forest, was in which part of India?
a) Kerala
b) Himalaya
c) Karnataka
d) Maharashtra
Answer: B

Question. Which of the following is not the factor responsible for land degradation?
a) Shifting Cultivation
b) Deforestation
c) Poaching
d) Unsustainable fuelwood and fodder extraction
Answer: C

Question. Give two examples of resources overuse.
Answer: The two examples of resources overuse are.
- Excessive of tree demolishing
- Excessive exploitation of fossil fuel

Question. Give two examples of misuse of resources.
Answer: The two examples of misuse of resources are.
- Use of river to absorb industrial effluents
- Use of wood as household fuel

Question. The per capita forest land in the India is only ____________hectare against the requirement of 0.47 hectare to meet basic needs. ( Fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer: 0.08

Question.In order to address two major environmental concerns in India, viz. water and air pollution, the government set up the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in year ___________. ( Fill up the blank with correct answer)
Answer: 1974

Question. Solar energy is captured through special kind of material called _____________ cells and convert solar energy into electricity. ( Fill up the blank with correct option)
Answer: photovoltaic cells

Question. Whether the following statements are true or not?
In recent years India is taking efforts to increase the power generation through solar. India is also leading an International body called International Solar Alliance (ISA).‘
Answer: True

Question. Whether the following statements are true or false?
In Delhi, the use of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as fuel in public transport system has increased air pollution and the air quality has reduced in the last few years‘.
Answer : False

Question. According to Herman Daly - The carrying capacity of the environment is like a plimsoll line‘ of the ship. In the absence of the plimsoll line for the economy, human scale grows beyond the carrying capacity of the earth and deviates from sustainable development. What does the Plimsoll line mean here?
Answer: load limit mark beyond which ship will not be loaded, Similarly population/pollution should also be controlled with in the carrying capacity of the earth.

Question.What is meant by environment?
Answer: The total planetary inheritance and the totality of resources is called environment. In simple language; our surrounding is called our environment. The environment is composed of two types of components, viz. biotic and abiotic. The biotic components include all the living beings, while the abiotic components include non-living things like air, water, soil, etc.

Question. What happens when the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their regeneration?
Answer: When the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their generation, the resource gets exhausted. This diminishes the carrying capacity of environment which is a potential threat to the existence of life.

Question. Classify the following into renewable and non-renewable resources: (i) trees (ii) fish (iii) petroleum (iv) coal (v) iron-ore (vi) water.
Answer: Trees, fish and water are renewable resources, while coal, petroleum and iron-ore are non-renewable resources.

Question. Two major environmental issues facing the world today are ____________ and _____________.
Answer: Global warming and ozone depletion

Question. How do the following factors contribute to the environmental crisis in India? What problem do they pose for the government?

a. Rising population
Answer: About 17% of the world population lives in India which has only 2.5% of the total land in the world. This means there is more pressure on land resources which results in large scale deforestation.

b. Air pollution
Answer: Air pollution is very high in most of the cities and towns. Increased vehicular population is the major reason of air pollution in cities. Even in villages, burning of firewood and cow dung cakes contributes to air pollution.

c. Water contamination
Answer: Most of the sewage is discharged into the water bodies without being treated. This contributes to water pollution. Most of the rivers and ponds in India are heavily polluted. Increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has polluted the groundwater as well.

d. Affluent consumption standards
Answer: Over the six decades after independence, India has progressed a lot. The disposable income has grown significantly among the middle classes; which has resulted in increased consumption. This has also resulted in increased levels of air pollution.

e. Illiteracy
Answer: Many people continue to pollute the environment because of ignorance. The illiterates comprise a major section of such people.

f. Industrialisation
Answer: India is now among the top ten industrialized nations in the world. While industrialization has resulted in developments in various aspects, it has also resulted in increased levels of pollution. The major industrial belts in India have highly polluted air.

g. Urbanisation
Answer: Urbanisation has increased in India. Many places which had rural characters in the past have become urbanized. More and more people are migrating towards cities and towns in search of livelihood. This has created pressure on cities which are major economic hubs.

h. Reduction of forest coverage
Answer: Due to increased population, forest has been continuously cleared to make way for human settlements and activities. At present per capita forest land is just 0.08 hectare, while it should have ideally been 0.47 hectares.

i. Poaching
Answer: In spite of many rules and regulations and active vigilance by the forest department, poaching still continues in Indian forests. Killing of wild animals disturbs the environmental balance.

j. Global warming
Answer: High level of air pollution means high level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases and hence results in global warming. The effects of global warming can be seen in changing weather patterns, flash floods and droughts in our country also.

Question. What are the functions of the environment?
Answer: Following are the functions of the environment:
- Environment supplies resources
- It assimilates wastes
- It sustains life by providing biodiversity
- It also provides aesthetic services like scenery

Question. Identify six factors contributing to land degradation in India.
Answer: Six factors responsible for land degradation are as follows:
- loss of vegetation due to deforestation
- unsustainable firewood and fodder extraction
- shifting cultivation
- encroachment into forest lands
- non-adoption of adequate measures for soil conservation
- improper crop rotation

Question. Explain how the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.
Answer: Negative environmental impact has long term opportunity costs involved. When the rate of resource extraction is higher than that of its renewal, many resources get exhausted or become on the verge of extinction. As a result, we are forced to invest too much in exploration of alternate resources. The environmental pollution results in bad quality of air and water which results in many diseases; like asthma and cholera. Prevention and treatment of these diseases involved huge cost to the society. Thus, it can be said that the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.

Question. Outline the steps involved in attaining sustainable development in India.
Answer: Following are the steps involved in attaining sustainable development in India:
- Use of non-conventional sources of energy: This will help in reducing our dependency on thermal power and hydel power. Thus, use of non-conventional sources of energy will help in ensuring sustainable development.
- LPG, Gobar gas in rural areas: Use of LPG and gobar gas in rural areas will help in reducing the extraction of firewood for fuel. Thus, it will help in reducing air pollution and felling of trees.
- CNG in urban areas: As the example of Delhi shows, increased use of CNG in urban areas can help in improving air quality.
- Wind power: Wind power is a renewable source of energy and can be harnessed with available technology. Many wind farms are already operational in India.
- Solar power through photovoltaic cells: Solar panels are being used for powering traffic lights and hoardings in many cities. Solar cells are also being used in water heaters and for lightning purposes.
- Mini-hydel plants: Mini hydel plants can be ideal for hilly areas which have large number of streams. Mini hydel plants can help in supplying electricity to remote areas and also in preventing transmission losses.

Question. India has abundant natural resources—substantiate the statement.
Answer: India has a unique geographical location and hence it is endowed with plenty of natural resources. Most of the minerals are found in abundance in India; except petroleum. Some of the major rivers are in India and thus a vast portion of India has highly fertile land. India gets plenty of sunshine throughout the year which makes it an ideal place for harnessing solar energy. The vast area of the Thar desert is ideal of harnessing wind energy. A very long coastline of India means we can get plenty of resources from the ocean.

Question. Is environmental crisis a recent phenomenon? If so, why?
Answer: Before the industrial revolution, the rate of extraction of resources was very low and it was less than that of renewal of resources. But after so many years of industrial revolution and subsequent development, the rate of extraction of resources has grown manifold. This has resulted in exhaustion of resources in many countries. It has also resulted in high levels of environmental pollution. Hence, it can be said that environmental crisis is a recent phenomenon.

Question. Give two instances of
a. Overuse of environmental resources
Answer: Overuse of fossil fuels and minerals

b. Misuse of environmental resources
Answer: Wastage of drinking water, wastage of paper

Question. State any four pressing environmental concerns of India. Correction for environmental damages involves opportunity costs—explain.
Answer: The four pressing environmental concerns of India are; air pollution, groundwater pollution, pollution of rivers and soil erosion. It is indeed true that correction of environmental damages involves opportunity costs. Let us take example of air pollution. For minimizing air pollution, we need to fit vehicles with catalytic converters which means increased cost of the vehicle. For rectifying the pollution of water bodies, we need to clean up our rivers which is a gargantuan task.

Question. Explain the supply-demand reversal of environmental resources.
Answer: Before the beginning of the Industrial Revolution the supply of natural resources was higher than demand. But after many years of Industrial Revolution there has been a role reversal. At present, the demand of natural resources is higher than supply.

Question. Account for the current environmental crisis.
Answer: The current environmental crisis is because of our unsustainable practices. We are overusing and misusing the natural resources. As a result, many resources have either exhausted or are on the verge of exhaustion. The excess use of natural resources has created a huge amount of waste which is beyond the waste absorption capacity of the environment. This has resulted in a situation in which our environment‘s ability to sustain life has been compromised. This situation is called environmental crisis.

Question. Highlight any two serious adverse environmental consequences of development in India. India‘s environmental problems pose a dichotomy — they are poverty induced and, at the same time, due to affluence in living standards—is this true?
Answer: One of the serious consequences of development in India is air pollution and another is heavily polluted rivers. Ganga; the holiest river of India; resembles a dirty drain near most of the cities is passes through. It is absolutely true that India‘s environmental problems are poverty induced as well as due to affluence in living standards. The poor people continue to fell tree to obtain firewood because they cannot afford LPG. Felling of trees has serious environmental consequences. On the other hand, the affluent lifestyle means increased consumption of fossil fuels which also causes serious damage to the environment.

Question. What is sustainable development?
Answer: The development which ensures a good quality of life for the current generation and also ensures that the future generation would get at least the same quality of life is called sustainable development.

Question. Keeping in view your locality, describe any four strategies of sustainable development.
Answer: The following strategies can help in ensuring sustainable development for any locality:
- Switching to alternate sources of energy; like solar energy and wind energy
- Promoting afforestation to recover the loss of greenery.
- Promoting the use of CNG in vehicles
- Building better public transport facilities

Question. Explain the relevance of intergenerational equity in the definition of sustainable development.
Answer: Intergenerational equity means whatever natural resources are available to our generation should also be available to the coming generations. In fact, this is the basic premise of sustainable development. If the development can be sustained in a way that many generations to come would be in a position to enjoy the bounty of nature then only we can say that we are practicing sustainable development.

ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Very Short Answer Questions 

1. What is meant by environment?

2. Name the agency that regulates pollution control in India.

3. Define opportunity cost.

4. What is sustainable development?

5. Define the following terms (a) Carrying capacity (b) Absorptive capacity

6. How do the following factors contribute to the environmental crisis in India?

(a) Rising population

(b) Air pollution

(c) Water contamination

(d) Illiteracy

(e) Industrialisation

(f) Urbanisation

(g) Reduction of forest coverage

(h) Global warming.

Short Answer Questions 

1. What are the functions of the environment?

2. What happens when the rate of resource extraction exceeds that of their regeneration?

3. Classify the following into renewable and non-renewable resources

a) Trees

b) Fish

c) Petroleum

d) Coal

e) Iron-ore

f) Water

4. Briefly discuss the two published reports on the need for sustainable development in India.

5. Identify the factors contributing to land degradation in India.

6. Discuss the various ways that can help in achieving sustainable development in India.

7. List any four major environmental concerns of India.

8. Explain the supply-demand reversal of environmental resources.

Long Answer Questions 

1. Explain the relevance of intergenerational equity in the definition of sustainable development.

2. How does population explosion contribute to the environmental crisis?

NCERT text book questions:

1. Explain how the opportunity costs of negative environmental impact are high.

2. Outline the steps involved in attaining sustainable development in India.

3. India has abundant natural resources—substantiate the statement.

4. Is environmental crisis a recent phenomenon? If so, why?

Please click the link below to download CBSE Class 11 Economics - Environment And Sustainable Development.