1. Introduction to environmental pollution:

Environmental pollution is one of the most serious problems facing humanity and other life forms on our planet today. Environmental pollution is defined as “the contamination of the physical and biological components of the earth/atmosphere system to such an extent that normal environmental processes are adversely affected.” Pollutants can be naturally occurring substances or energies, but they are considered contaminants when in excess of natural levels. Any use of natural resources at a rate higher than nature’s capacity to restore itself can result in pollution of air, water, and land. Generally, environmental pollution takes place when the environment cannot process and neutralize harmful by-products of human activities in due course without any structural or functional damage to its system. Although pollution has been known to exist since life began, it has seen a growth of truly global proportions since the onset of the industrial revolution during the 19th century. Environmental pollution is a problem not only in the developed countries but also in developing countries. Factors such as population growth, technological advancement, and urbanization invariably place greater demands on the planet and stretch the use of natural resources to the maximum. Pollution is something that we face on an everyday basis; probably, this is something we may even be immune to in our fast-paced lives. There are three major types of environmental pollution: air, water, and land pollution. Air and noise pollution are increasing at an alarming rate today. Air pollution occurs with the addition of harmful chemicals into the Earth’s atmosphere. The main pollutants that cause air pollution are carbon monoxide, Chlorofluorocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. Water pollution is caused when wastes are released into the water, which contaminates it. Soil can even be contaminated due to various domestic and industrial activities. Noise pollution is also a current environmental issue that causes harm in various ways. ¹

What is Environmental Pollution?

The Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control defines environmental pollution as any activity, by corporations or individuals, which compromises the health and/or environment of other persons in a localized area, where the causal link is clearly established. There are seven categories of environmental pollution. (See Table No.2)

Table No. 1. The History of Environmental Pollution Control Measures

The history of environmental pollution control measures (Iijima 1993)	Classifications of environmental pollution control measures
1. Prior to 1868 (before the Edo Era): First protest actions by victims of pollution	Beginnings of environmental pollution
2. 1869–1914 (Meiji Era to First World War): Emphasis on industrial development
3. 1914–1945 (First World War through to end of Second World War): Emphasis on nation-building
4. 1945–1954: Pollution becomes an issue in wider society	Social awareness of environmental pollution Environmental pollution control measures commenced in earnest
5. 1955–1964: Extensive pollution damage during period of rapid industrial growth
6. 1965–1974: Pollution problems continue to worsen
7. 1975–1984: Lack of commitment in environmental policy	Pollution control measures lose momentum, increased awareness of environmental problems.
8. 1985–present: Mounting concern for global environmental issues

Source: Based on Iijima, Nobuko (1993) report.

Table No. 2. Seven Categories of Pollution

Category	Major causes	Major symptoms	Examples
Atmospheric pollution	Smoke, dust, exhaust fumes, toxic substances (such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide)	Asthma, bronchitis	Photo chemical smog, “Yokkaichi Asthma”
Water pollution	Polluted waste water, waste fluids (such as petroleum), sludge, household sewage, sewage discharge, general waste, agricultural chemicals	Noxious odors, poisoning	Minamata Disease, “Itai-Itai” Disease (cadmium poisoning) PCB poisoning
Soil pollution	Arsenic, heavy metals (especially in agricultural chemicals)	Nausea, vomiting, dizziness etc.	Poisoning
Noise	Factories, construction work, road traffic, trains and aircraft, late- night commercial operations, advertising	Headaches, insomnia, depression, hearing loss, impaired development	Osaka Airport noise
Vibration	Factories, construction work, road traffic, trains and aircraft	Dizziness, discomfort, structural damage to homes	Shinkansen (bullet train) vibration
Ground subsidence	Up-swelling of groundwater, gravel quarrying, coal mining	Structural damage to buildings	Koto Ward, Tokyo
Noxious odors	Exhaust fumes, river contamination, sanitation facilities, accumulated sewage, livestock farms, etc.	Headaches, discomfort	Sewage in the Sumida River

Source: Based on the Basic Law for Environmental Pollution Control.

2. Causes of environmental pollution:

Main causes of environmental pollution:

The problem of environmental pollution, we face today, is a complex consequence of forces connected with various interrelating factors. There are clearly a number of divergent and conflicting views of what could be the basic factors underlying the environmental crisis. No single cause can be considered as the root cause of environmental impairment. However, the following causes could be pointed out as the generally underlying factors though each of these too could be operating simultaneously and their balance may vary from place to place and through time. Population growth:

Modern thinkers consider that growth of population is the root cause for many human problems. This observation also applies to environmental degradation. Increase in the population will have a multiplier effect requiring proportionate increase in all requirements necessary for the existence of human beings. Population growth requires abnormal exploitation of natural resources to provide day-to-day essential requirements of life. It results in migration of people and growth of urban areas, thereby inviting new problems of health, ecology and human sustenance. ²

2.1 Increased General Affluence and Economic Growth:

The affluence (i.e. material aspects of per capita consumption of goods and resources) is an important factor in man-resource- environment relationship. It is the increasing per capita demand of rich which is absorbing the growth in output of goods and services in the developed and developing countries and cause misuse or overuse and pollution of resources, for the affluence unmatched to the necessary resource consumption and not motivated by human requirements produce tendency to waste matter and energy. Surprisingly, affluence factor though, having a great impact on environment, is seldom talked about. On the other hand, poor and the poverty often get blamed for the destruction of environment. The notion that poverty or the poor destroy the environment most is but partially true.

2.2 Nature of Modern Technology:

The nature of productive technology in recent years is closely related to the environmental crisis. Commoner maintains that sweeping transformations of productive technology since World War II productive technologies with intense impacts on environment have displaced less destructive ones. This factor has been largely responsible for the generation of synthetic and non- biodegradable substances such as plastics, chemical nitrogen fertilizers, synthetic detergents, synthetic fibers, big cars, petrochemical and other environmentally injurious industries and 'disposable culture. Thus, environmental crisis is the inevitable result of a counter ecological pattern of productive growth. Ecologically benign technologies did and do exist but they are not utilized, for they are considered inconsistent with the short-term interests of private profit maximization. ³

Industrial Development:

Rapid Industrial Development has given economic prosperity to human society. It has also given new dimension to socio-economic structure and has provided material comfort to the people of industrially developed countries but it has also created many fold environmental problems. In fact, the glittering effects of industrialization have affected the mind of the general public that industrialization is now being considered as the parameter of modernity and as a necessary element of socio-economic development of a nation.

Deforestation:

Forests are invaluable property of a nation because they provide raw materials to modern industries, timber for building purposes, habitats for numerous types of animals and micro- organisms. Good fertile and nutrient-rich soils having high content of organic matter, offer protection to soils by binding the soils through the network of their roots and by protecting the soils from direct impact of falling raindrops. They encourage and increase infiltration of rainwater and thus allow maximum recharge of groundwater resources, minimize surface run-off and hence reduce the frequency, intensity and dimension of floods. They help in increasing the precipitation; they are natural sink of carbon dioxide because they use carbon dioxide to prepare their food during the process of photosynthesis. They provide firewood to millions of people all over the world and food and shelter to innumerable humans and animals. In fact, forests are 'life line' of a nation because prosperity and welfare of the society directly depends on sound and healthy forest cover of a nation concerned. Forests are main component of the biotic components of the natural environmental system and the stability of the environment and ecological balance largely depend on the status of the forests of the region concerned. ⁴ It is a matter of serious concern that the present economic man has forgotten the environment and ecological significance of natural vegetations mainly forests and grasslands and has destroyed the forests so rapidly and alarmingly that the forest areas at global, regional and local levels have so markedly decreased that several serious environmental problems such as accelerated rate of soil loss through rain splash, sheet wash, rill and gully erosion, increase in the frequency and dimension of floods, greater, incidence of drought due to decrease in precipitation etc. have plagued the modern human society. The major causes of deforestation at global and regional levels are conversion of forest land into agricultural land, shifting cultivation, transformation of forests into pastures, overgrazing, forest fires, lumbering, multipurpose river projects etc. ⁵

2.3 Agricultural Development:

Agricultural development means expansion of agricultural land increase in agricultural productivity and net agricultural production. It is due to development of modern scientific techniques, advanced technologies, increased production and use of chemical fertilizers, expansion in irrigational facilities, development of high yielding varieties of seeds, etc. This has solved the problem of growing demand of food due to ever increasing world population on the one hand; it has also created or is creating hazardous environmental problems of serious concern on the other hand. Thus modern economic and technological man is at the cross road of dangers in all directions. The agricultural development degrades the environment in a variety of ways, e.g. (i) through the application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and insecticides, (ii) through the increase in irrigational facilities and amount of irrigation, (iii) by making changes in biological communities etc. Conversion of forests land into agricultural farms on sloppy ground accelerates rate of soil erosion. Increased in agricultural land at the cost of destruction of forest and consequent soil erosion, substantial increase in the productivity of land through the practice of intensive cultivation, increased use of machines and modern scientific techniques, application of chemical fertilities, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides, increase in the frequency and area of watering of agricultural fields, etc. All these processes and measures of increased agricultural development cause several serious environmental problems. It appears that the root cause of all these environmental problems arising out of agricultural development is the increase of human population at alarming rate. So the foremost step to be taken is to stop population growth because if population continues to grow agricultural development has to be maintained. ^6-7

2.4 Poverty:

It is true that poor cause damage to environment. Due to poverty the people exploit excessively the natural resources of the country for meeting their basic needs (food, fuel, shelter, employment fodder for their cattle). Poverty and need are indeed the greatest polluters as told by late Mrs. Indira Gandhi in her address to the Stockholm Conference. Hence necessary steps should be taken to bring the poor people above the poverty line. ⁸

3. Various ways to overcome environmental issues:

3.1 Control population growth:

Human population control is the practice of artificially altering the rate of growth of a human population. Historically, human population control has been implemented by limiting the population's birth rate, usually by government mandate, and has been undertaken as a response to factors including high or increasing levels of poverty, environmental concerns, religious reasons, and overpopulation. While population control can involve measures that improve people's lives by giving them greater control of their reproduction, some programs have exposed them to exploitation.⁷ Worldwide, the population control movement was active throughout the 1960s and 1970s, driving many reproductive health and family planning programs. In the 1980s, tension grew between population control advocates and feminist women's health activists who advanced women's reproductive rights as part of a human rights-based approach.² Growing opposition to the narrow population control focus led to a significant change in population control policies in the early 1990s.⁹

Methods:

Population control may use one or more of the following practices although there are other methods as well:

· Contraception

· Abstinence

· Abortion

· Emigration

· Decreasing immigration

· Starvation, famine

· Pestilence, plague

· War

The method chosen can be strongly influenced by the religious and cultural beliefs of community members. The failure of other methods of population control can lead to the use of abortion or infanticide as necessary final options. While a specific population control practice may be legal/mandated in one country, it may be illegal or restricted in another, indicative of the controversy surrounding this topic.¹⁰

Stop deforestation and initiation of plantation:

a) The best solution to deforestation is to curb the felling of trees, by employing a series of rules and laws to govern it. Deforestation in the current scenario may have reduced however it would be too early to assume. The money-churner that forest resources can be, is tempting enough for deforestation to continue.

b) Clear cutting of forests must be banned. This will curb total depletion of the forest cover. It is a practical solution and is very feasible.

c) Land skinned of its tree cover for urban settlements should be urged to plant trees in the vicinity and replace the cut trees. Also the cutting must be replaced by planting young trees to replace the older ones that were cut. Trees are being planted under several initiatives every year, but they still don’t match the numbers of the ones we’ve already lost.¹¹

3.2 Replacement of fuels with biofuels:

First-generation biofuels:

The most well-known first-generation biofuel is ethanol made by fermenting sugar extracted from sugar cane or sugar beets, or sugar extracted from starch contained in maize kernels or other starch-laden crops. Similar processing, but with different fermentation organisms, can yield another alcohol, butanol. Commercialization efforts for butanol are ongoing ¹², while ethanol is already a well-established industry. Global production of first-generation bio-ethanol in 2006 was about 51 billion litres with Brazil (from sugar cane) and the United States (from maize) each contributing about 18 billion litres, or 35 per cent of the total. China and India contributed 11 per cent to global ethanol production in 2006, and production levels were much lower in other countries with feed stocks that include cane, corn, and several other sugar or starch crops (sugar beets, wheat, potatoes). Many countries are expanding or contemplating expanding their first-generation ethanol production, with Brazil and the United States having by far the largest expansion plans. Ethanol production is expected to more than double between now and 2013 in Brazil ¹³, and production capacity in the United States will double from the 2006 level once new plants currently under construction are completed. ¹⁴ From the perspective of petroleum substitution or carbon emissions mitigation efficiencies the potential for most first-generation biofuels is limited. This is illustrated in Figure 4, which shows that the United States is projected to produce about 34 billion litres of ethanol in 2007 by using 27 per cent its corn crop. ¹⁵ On an energy basis, this ethanol will still account for less than 4 per cent of United States gasoline plus ethanol consumption in 2007. In addition, the significant amount of fossil fuel used to produce this ethanol substantially offsets the carbon emissions reductions from photosynthetic uptake of carbon by the corn plants. Green technology for environmental safety

Green Technology is the development and application of products, equipment and systems used to conserve the natural environment and resources, which minimize and reduces the negative impact of human activities. Green Technology refers to products, equipment or systems which satisfy the following criteria:

a) It minimizes the degradation of the environment;

b) It has zero or low greenhouse gas (GHG) emission is safe for use and promotes healthy and improved environment for all forms of life;

c) It conserves the use of energy and natural resources;

d) It promotes the use of renewable resources.

Importance of green technology:

Green technology, an environmentally friendly technology is developed and used in a way that protects the environment and conserves natural resources. The emerging area of green chemistry has identified scientific principles, approaches, and methodologies that have demonstrated the most positive aspects of chemistry. Green technology as a part of the renewable energy branch of the environmental technology movement, the green technology importance cannot be ignored. We have come to a point, where we need to pause and reflect on the growing green technology importance and why it is going to be important for humanity. With many reasons behind green technology importance, perhaps volumes can be written and spoken on the subject. Whether it is the growing importance of green technology in the industry or at homes, it is certain that things need to be done fast. It does not take a rocket-scientist to state that mankind has to do something about clean environment and save energy resources. Going green can only help us come out of the present tough situation. Before things turn for the worst, we should realize the green technology importance to solve this problem.¹⁶

Major sector:

Energy Sector: Application of Green Technology in power generation and energy supply management, including co-generation (co-generation) in the industrial and commercial sectors, and Sector Energy Consumption Application of Green Technology in all sectors of energy consumption and energy demand management programs.

i) Building Sector: Adoption of Green Technology in the construction, management, maintenance and destroying of buildings

ii) Water and Waste Management Sector: Adoption of Green Technology in the management and use of water resources, wastewater treatment, solid waste landfill

iii) Transport Sector: Incorporation of Green Technology in the transportation infrastructure and vehicles, in particular, biofuels and public road transport.

3.3 Green Technology for Sustainable Energy:

Nanotechnology innovations in renewable energy solve entire energy requirement of human beings for their basic needs and for the comfortable life. Balancing human beings need for energy with the environmental cost to our planet is a major challenge. Demand for energy on earth is forecasted as increasing 50% by the year 2025 with most of these being fossil fuels. Currently over 1.4 billion humans have no access to electricity and 2.2 billion rely on plant material, vegetation, or agricultural waste as an energy and heating source. Our fossil fuel consumption is escalating and could become double by the year 2025. Meanwhile, Earth’s glaciers are receding, the CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have nearly doubled, and world temperatures, recorded since 1861, were the hottest in three of the past five years. 1998 was the warmest on record, 2001 came in the second warmest and 2004 was the fourth warmest. Nanotechnology will help to solve our need for energy solutions through more efficient lighting, fuel cells, hydrogen storage, solar cells, locally distributed power generation, and decentralized generation and storage by reinventing the power grid. Nanotechnology as green technology supports large-scale renewable solar energy and wind energy production and distribution at low cost without any environmental degradation, contributing sustainable energy solution. Even though research in nanotechnology is progress towards developing highly efficient solar cells, the challenge is to achieve 100 % solar conversion efficiency.

3.4 Green Nanotechnology in the field of science, technology and Drug development:

The important and major area of green nanotechnology research is in human health. Humans are living longer lives. In the previous centuries, men and women expected to live to 48 and 51 years respectively. But life expectancy is now 74 and 80 years and could be significantly longer with anti-aging advancements currently being developed. At the same time, 30 new highly infectious diseases have been discovered in the last 20 years. These diseases account for 30% of the deaths worldwide and include HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and the Avian Flu. HIV/AIDS. According to the World Cancer Report, there could be a 50% increase to 15 million new cases in the year 2020 primarily attributed to an aging population worldwide. Green nanotechnology research provides tremendous opportunity in making progress in the medical field. Some of the nanotechnology applications in the arena will be inexpensive and rapid diagnostics, new methods of drug delivery, and faster development of new drugs. Some longer-term and even more powerful nanotechnology solutions will repair DNA and cellular damage and customize drug therapy. The longer-term applications of advanced nanotechnology for sustainable health and longevity are explored. Developments are expected in pharmaceutics and green nanotechnology, which allows patients to drink fluids containing nano robots programmed to attack and reconstruct the molecular structure of cancer cells and viruses. There's even speculation that nano robots could slow or reverse the aging process, and life expectancy could increase significantly. Nano robots could also be programmed to perform delicate surgeries such nano-surgeons could work at a level a thousand times more precise than the sharpest scalpel. By working on such a small scale, a nano robot could operate without leaving the scars that conventional surgery does. Additionally, nano robots could change our physical appearance. They could be programmed to perform cosmetic surgery, rearranging the atoms of the human body to change his ears, nose, eye colour or any other physical feature he wishes to alter [17]. The green nanotechnology may be able to extend our lives by helping to eradicate life threatening diseases such as cancer, and the other is by repairing damage to our bodies at the cellular level--a nano version of the fountain of youth. The extension of the human lifespan could be also facilitated through the removal of a substance called lipofuscin from certain types of non-dividing cells, including the brain, heart, liver, kidneys and eyes. Lipofuscin is a metabolic end product that accumulates primarily within lysosomes (the garbage disposal organelles within cells). It's thought that when lipofuscin accumulates to certain levels, it begins to negatively impact cell function, which eventually manifests in many age-related conditions. It is proposed that humans might live as long as 1,000 years under the appropriate rejuvenation therapies. In 30 or 40 years, we'll have microscopic machines travelling through our bodies, repairing damaged cells and organs, effectively wiping out diseases. The nanotechnology will also be used to back up our memories and personalities. And in 35 to 40 years, we literally will be immortal ^18-19.

4. CONCLUSION:

Technology has affected the society and its surroundings in many ways and helped to develop more advanced economies including today's global economy. Science has contributed many technologies to the society which include Aircraft technology, Automobile technology, Biotechnology, Computer technology, Telecommunication technology, Internet technology, Renewable energy technology, Atomic & Nuclear technology, Nanotechnology, Space technology etc. have changed the lifestyle of the people and provided comfortability. In order to sustain this comfortness of people in the society, they have to worry about the sustainability of the surrounding environment. In this paper, we propose how the technologies can be made sustainable by adding green component so that they can avoid environmental degradation and converted into green technologies to provide a clean environment for future generations. The paper also discuss the opportunities and challenges for green technology for agriculture, green technology for potable water, green technology for renewable energy, green technology for buildings, green technology for aircraft and space exploration, green technology for education, green technology for food & processing, and green technology for health and medicine in 21st century.

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Received on 04.02.2022 Modified on 17.02.2022

Research J. Science and Tech. 2022; 14(2):98-104.

DOI: 10.52711/2349-2988.2022.00016

Deeper Insights into role of Green Technology for Pollution Free Environment: An updated Review