ecosystem services i depend upon

Humankind benefits from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and include products like clean drinking waterand processes such as the decomposition of wastes. While scientists and environmentalists have discussed ecosystem services for decades, these services were popularized and their definitions formalized by the United Nations 2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA), a four-year study involving more than 1,300 scientists worldwide.[1] This grouped ecosystem services into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. As human populations grow, so do the resource demands imposed on ecosystems and the impacts of ourglobal footprint. Natural resources are not invulnerable and infinitely available. The environmental impacts ofanthropogenic actions, which are processes or materials derived from human activities, are becoming more apparent air and water quality are increasingly compromised, oceans are being overfished, pests and diseases are extending beyond their historical boundaries, and deforestation is exacerbating flooding downstream. It has been reported that approximately 40-50% of Earths ice-free land surface has been heavily transformed or degraded by anthropogenic activities, 66% of marine fisheries are either overexploitedor at their limit, atmospheric CO2 has increased more than 30% since the advent of industrialization, and nearly 25% of Earths bird species have goneextinct in the last two thousand years.[2] Society is increasingly becoming aware that ecosystem services are not only limited, but also that they are threatened by human activities. The need to better consider long-term ecosystem health and its role in enabling human habitation and economic activity is urgent. To help inform decision-makers, many ecosystem services are being assigned economic values, often based on the cost of replacement with anthropogenic alternatives. The ongoing challenge of prescribing economic value to nature, for example through biodiversity banking, is prompting transdisciplinary shifts in how we recognize and manage the environment, social responsibility, business opportunities, and our future as a species.
The concept of ecosystem services has been developed to aid our understanding of the human use and management of natural resources
Our health and wellbeing depends upon the services provided by ecosystems and their components: water, soil, nutrients and organisms. Therefore, ecosystem services are the processes by which the environment produces resources utlilised by humans such as clean air, water, food and materials. Ecosystem services can be defined in various ways. The Millennium Ecosystem Assessment provided the most comprehensive assessment of the state of the global environment to date; it classified ecosystem services as follows:

Supporting services: The services that are necessary for the production of all other ecosystem services including soil formation, photosynthesis, primary production, nutrient cycling and water cycling. Provisioning services: The products obtained from ecosystems, including food, fibre, fuel, genetic resources, biochemicals, natural medicines, pharmaceuticals, ornamental resources and fresh water; Regulating services: The benefits obtained from the regulation of ecosystem processes, including air quality regulation, climate regulation, water regulation, erosion regulation, water purification, disease regulation, pest regulation, pollination, natural hazard regulation; Cultural services: The non-material benefits people obtain from ecosystems through spiritual enrichment, cognitive development, reflection, recreation and aesthetic experiences thereby taking account of landscape values;

Water problems in Mumbai

Water Crisis and effects of global warming has not left Mumbai alone, Since last 2 years the problem of water crisis and shortage in Mumbai says a lot where Mumbai local people are suffering 15% water cut. Lets look at problems and possible solutions.. Due to not so great monsoon this year water level in almost major 6 lakes (Major water supply source) in Mumbai is below the mark, Only 3 of those 6 major lakes overflowed this year and so the

announcement of 15 percent water cut in Mumbai by BMC. Daily requirement of water in city is about 4300 million litres and current position and supply is only approximately 3400 Million litres/day. The worst park is the wastage of water upto 20% via theft and leakage. Vihar lake which is one of the major source of water is worst this year. This also gives crisis effects on master balance reservoirs (MBR) which stores water in lots of locations around Mumbai. Problem People and Major crisis Affected Areas Lots of places only 30 minutes of water supply. Cuffe parade, Bandra, Malabar Hill and Versova are some of the locations facing low pressure water supply due to hilly areas and few of them are at the end of pipeline channels. People are fighting for just few buckets of water to drink. crisis has hit majorly the old time Chawl system locations like BDD chawl and others in suburbs faces more challenges due to common water taps between families. Need to pay extra to get tanker supplied water even if BMC charges fixed amount per home for water since couple of years. Possible Solutions For Shortage One of the best solution as of date is Rain Water Harvesting and increasing Bore well waters (Underground Pure Water) and few other things which we need to care individually to fight against this crisis. Rain Water Harvesting In lots of Cooperative societies in Mumbai people are implementing this method to save and get some extra water. In this process extra water during rainfall (monsoon season) is collected to underground water tanks and preserved. This water can be also used for society maintenance, gardening etc and this way 4 months of monsoon are saved from crisis. Bore Well Water - Also known as Boring water as slang of Mumbai, which is another natural source of pure water stored deep underground in heart of mother earth. By digging and putting up machines per society we can have lots of extra water beating the shortage problems. Also recommended that BMC should voluntarily setup such hand pumps in most of the locations. Alternate solutions - Individually we humans are more responsible for global warming and its just we who has to fill for the deeds, Lets use the waste water like (Post Laundry waste water) to be used as cleaning and flushing bathrooms and floor cleanings. DONOT keep taps open while Brushing your teeth and shaving,

Energy crisis in Mumbai

An energy crisis is any great bottleneck (or price rise) in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular literature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, particularly those that supply national electricity grids or serve as fuel for vehicles. There has been an enormous increase in the global demand for energy in recent years as a result of industrial development and population growth. Since the early 2000s the demand for energy, especially from liquid fuels, and limits on the rate of fuel production has created such a bottleneck leading to the current energy crisis. Market failure is possible when monopoly manipulation of markets occurs. A crisis can develop due to industrial actions like union organized strikes and government embargoes. The cause may be over-consumption, aging infrastructure, choke point disruption or bottlenecks at oil refineries and port facilities that restrict fuel supply. An emergency may emerge during unusually cold winters due to increased consumption of energy.

Pipeline failures and other accidents may cause minor interruptions to energy supplies. A crisis could possibly emerge after infrastructure damage from severe weather. Attacks by terrorists or militia on important infrastructure are a possible problem for energy consumers, with a successful strike on a Middle East facility potentially causing global shortages. Political events, for example, when governments change due to regime change, monarchy collapse, military occupation, and coup may disrupt oil and gas production and create shortages. Fuel shortage is due to the excess and useless use of the fuels. Solution

"Its about time to find a real solution - cuts is not the solution" Anonymous Mumbai is facing an energy crisis, that every mumbaikar can say without any doubt, TOI (2005) reported "The crisis has never been so grave: today the shortfall has shot up to 4000MW which is about 25% of the state's total consumption. Mumbai Indias financial capital currently faces a power deficit of 400 to 700 megawatts (MW) everyday, and this leads to load shedding and higher electricity tariffs. To this problem I have 2 solutions, a wind and solar hybrid system and a solar energy system. The energy crisis in Mumbai is very bad, and it being the financial capital of the country makes it even more shameful. Maharashtra is a 5star developed state, but still sustains a astonishing 11.6% energy deflect. According to MSEB (Maharashtra State Energy Board) the peak deflect has touched 20% (short fall of 3000MW), which is astounding as the state is very well developed. In Mumbai it self there is a lot of electricity theft, roadside shops and cable wallas tend to make a huge mess on the electricity pole and warp a lot of wire as to hide a line being taken for their use. It will continue like this, until and unless a smart and strategically move is taken, a move planned out to support the citys demand on a long as well as short term basis, as the citys population is expected to be 21 million by the end of the year 2011.

Bio diversity conservation

One of the most pressing environmental issues today is the conservation of biodiversity. Many factors threaten the world's biological heritage. The challenge is for nations, government agencies, organisations and individuals to protect and enhance biological diversity, while continuing to meet people's needs for natural resources. This challenge exists from local to global scales. If not met, future generations will live in a biologically impoverished world and perhaps one that is less capable of producing desired resources as well. Conserving biological diversity involves restoring, protecting, conserving or enhancing the variety of life in an area so that the abundance and distribution of species and communities provide for continued existence and normal ecological functioning, including adaptation and extinction. Today our biosphere is in danger of extinction for a variety of reasons like lack of conservation in ecological planning; and destruction of natural habitats as space is given over to either alternative uses or is over-exploited and polluted. It is reported that during the next 20to30 years, the world would lose more than a million species of plants and animals-primarily because of environmental changes brought about by human beings. This demands an urgent attention for the conservation of biosphere. The Global biodiversity assessment warns, "Unless actions are taken to protect biodiversity, we will lose forever the opportunity of reaping its full potential benefit to humankind." Effective and implementable methods of stopping further genetic erosion and fostering the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems in mega biodiversity regions are the need of the hour. Efforts have been initiated to save biodiversity

Bio fuels
A biofuel is a fuel that contains energy from geologically recent carbon fixation. These fuels are produced from living organisms. Examples of this carbon fixation occur in plants and microalgae. These fuels are made by a biomass conversion (biomass refers to recently living organisms, most often referring to plants or plant-derived materials). This biomass can be converted to convenient energy containing substances in three different ways: thermal conversion, chemical conversion, and biochemical conversion. This biomass conversion can

result in fuel in solid, liquid, or gas form. This newbiomass can be used for biofuels. Biofuels have increased in popularity because of rising oil prices and the need for energy security. However, according to the European Environment Agency, biofuels do not necessarily mitigate global warming. Advantages

Biofuel advocates frequently point out the advantages of these plant- and animal-based fuels, such as:

Cost: Biofuels have the potential to be significantly less expensive than gasoline and other fossil fuels. This is particularly true as worldwide demand for oil increases, oil supplies dwindle, and more sources of biofuels become apparent. Source material: Whereas oil is a limited resource that comes from specific materials, biofuels can be manufactured from a wide range of materials including crop waste, manure, and other byproducts. This makes it an efficient step in recycling.

Renewability: It takes a very long time for fossil fuels to be produced, but biofuels are much more easily renewable as new crops are grown and waste material is collected. Security: Biofuels can be produced locally, which decreases the nation's dependence upon foreign energy. By reducing dependence on foreign fuel sources, countries can protect the integrity of their energy resources and make them safe from outside influences.

Economic stimulation: Because biofuels are produced locally, biofuel manufacturing plants can employ hundreds or thousands of workers, creating new jobs in rural areas. Biofuel production will also increase the demand for suitable biofuel crops, providing economic stimulation to the agriculture industry.

Lower carbon emissions: When biofuels are burned, they produce significantly less carbon output and fewer toxins, making them a safer alternative to preserve atmospheric quality and lower air pollution. Disadvantages Despite the many positive characteristics of biofuels, there are also many disadvantages to these energy sources.

Energy output: Biofuels have a lower energy output than traditional fuels and therefore require greater quantities to be consumed in order to produce the same energy level. This has led some noted energy analysts to believe that biofuels are not worth the work. Production carbon emissions: Several studies have been conducted to analyze the carbon footprint of biofuels, and while they may be cleaner to burn, there are strong indications that the process to produce the fuel - including the machinery necessary to cultivate the crops and the plants to produce the fuel - has hefty carbon emissions.

High cost: To refine biofuels to more efficient energy outputs, and to build the necessary manufacturing plants to increase biofuel quantities, a high initial investment is often required. Food prices: As demand for food crops such as corn grows for biofuel production, it could also raise prices for necessary staple food crops. Food shortages: There is concern that using valuable cropland to grow fuel crops could have an impact on the cost of food and could possibly lead to food shortages. Water use: Massive quantities of water are required for proper irrigation of biofuel crops as well as to manufacture the fuel, which could strain local and regional water resources.

Waste management
Waste management is the collection, transport, processing or disposal, managing and monitoring of wastematerials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and the process is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is a distinct practice from resource recovery which focuses on delaying the rate of consumption of natural resources. All waste materials, whether they are solid, liquid, gaseous or radioactive fall within the remit of waste management.

Waste management practices can differ for developed and developing nations, for urban and rural areas, and for residential and industrial producers. Management of non-hazardous waste residential and institutional waste in metropolitan areas is usually the responsibility of local government authorities, while management for non-hazardous commercial and industrial waste is usually the responsibility of the generator subject to local, national or international authorities. Solid Waste Management in Mumbai Mumbai has a coastal stretch of 603 sq km. Geographically, the city of Mumbai can be divided into three sections, namely, the island city (or main city), the western suburbs and the eastern suburbs. These are also known for administrative purposes as Division I, Division II and Division III, respectively. The total population of the city amounts to nearly 13million that is increasing on a daily basis. Such a huge habitat obviously generates a huge amount of waste of many kinds the management of which is a massive task for the local administration. Waste Generation Mumbai generates waste to the tune of approximately 7,025tonnes per day. The waste consists of: 5,025tonnes of mixed waste (bio-degradable and recyclable) 2,000tonnes of debris and silt. The biodegradable waste (wet waste) is made up of vegetable and fruit remainders, leaves, spoiled food, eggshells, cotton, etc. Recyclable (dry waste) consists of newspapers, thermocol, plastic, battery cells, wires, iron sheets, glass, etc. Debris includes construction waste, renovation waste, demolition waste, etc. Silt comprises earth and clay from drains and road corners. It is estimated that by 2008 such waste will aggregate 9,000tonnes per day due to increase in the city's population. Average Generation of Waste by a Citizen of Mumbai The generation of waste by an individual depends on the socio-economic conditions to which the person belongs. For example, a rich family will generate nearly four to five kg of mixed waste per day; a middle class family will generate between one to three kg of mixed waste per day and a poor family, in slums, will generate close to 500grams per day. Management of Waste The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) is formally responsible for the management of waste in the city. The prevailing approach has been one of collection and disposal that is, garbage is collected from communities by the municipal authorities and disposed off at the three main dumping sites that are currently servicing the city. Garbage collectors employed by various housing societies manually collect the waste generated at the household level and dump it in the garbage bin at specified street corners. There are around 5,800 community bins in the city. In case of South Mumbai, trucks collect garbage from the garbage bins and transport it to a transfer station which is located in Mahalakshmi. A separate transport is arranged for transferring the garbage from Mahalakshmi to the northern part of Mumbai where the dumping grounds are situated. From all other parts of the city, garbage is sent directly to the dumping grounds. Nearly 95% of the waste generated in the city is disposed off in this manner. This largely manual operation involves 35,000 personnel employed by the MCGM and is collected by a fleet of 800 vehicles, including vehicles hired from private contractors, that work in shifts each day. MCGM spends about Rs15-20lakh per day on collecting and transporting garbage and debris with municipal and private vehicles making about 2,000 trips every day.

SHOULD PLASTIC BE TOTALLY BANNED?

Plastics are synthetic substances produced by chemical reactions. Almost all plastics are made from petroleum, except a few experimental resins derived from corn and other organic substances. Plastic has many properties which have made it a raw material of choice for manufacturing of plastic bags and packing materials. Cost of production, light weight, strength,easy process of manufacture, and availability are some of the properties. There is nothing wrong with plastic as a material. Man has simply not put the plastic to the right use/ or using it without taking proper care of other related norms of usage. Now a days plastic is our favorite shopping basket, for example, the packaging of milk delivered to our doorsteps everyday, the edible oil, salt atta in our daily life, mineral water, which is our travel component. Plastics have changed life styles & conveniences in home cutting across every strata of society from refrigerators to mixers; from washing machines to water filters; from the ubiquitous bucket to thermo ware and have made life easier, better & happier for the housewife. But the hazards plastics pose are numerous. The land gets littered by plastic bag garbage presenting an ugly and unhygienic seen. The "throw away culture" results in these bags finding their way in to the city drainage system, the resulting blockage causes inconvenience and difficulties in maintaining the drainage which has increased its cost and

creates unhygienic environment resulting in health hazard and spreading of water borne diseases. This littering also reduces rate of rain water percolating, resulting in lowering of already low water levels in our cities. The soil fertility deteriorates as the plastic bags form part of manure remains in the soil for years. It has been observed that the animals eating the bags sometimes die. Plastic goes into the ocean which is already a plastic infested body of water. Fish and other marine species in the water ways, misunderstanding plastic garbage as food items swallow them and die. Should plastic carry bags and bottles be banned in totality?" - is a heated issue today. Average Indian uses one kilogram (kg) of plastic every year, the world annual average is a alarming 18 kg. "Plastic is an eco-friendly material. The real problem is littering", some claim. But there is hardly anybody who agrees with such viewpoint. Thinking rationally, the whole idea of educating people about plastic bags, is as difficult as banning smoking The conventional older and tested alternatives offers an easy, if not fully equitable and practical solution. More than a 100 million tonnes of plastic is produced world-wide each year. Though plastics have opened the way for a plethora of new inventions and devices it has also ended up clogging the drains and becoming a health hazard. Many countries, including India, are trying to increase the amount of plastic that is recycled. India imported 7,841.8 metric tonnes of plastic waste from the US in the first half of 1994. India is the fourth highest Asian importer of plastic waste behind Hong Kong, Philippines, Indonesia. Environmental pollution caused by routinely used polythene packaging materials; it would be prudent, for the present, to use eco-friendly paper packaging. A ban on plastic bags (below 20 microns) has already been imposed by various states and also in a few towns and districts in India. It is going to extend this to other parts of the country also. People on picnics, visiting historical places, hill stations etc., carry eatables in plastic containers, plastic bags, mineral water bottles (plastic), plastic plates and plastic cups and generally leave open in air after consuming the contents. In recent times, due to widespread awareness drive by the NGOs , the government and to a lesser extent by educational institutions has resulted in increasing the consciousness among few shopkeepers who have shifted back to the old system of wrapping up goods in paper bags or newspapers. Some people are slowly getting habituated to going to the market with cloth bags. Besides a few NGOs, even school students have come forward to take up a promotion campaign for the use of paper or cloth bags. It has also been suggested "Rather than spending money on anti-plastic campaign, the authorities should gear up its machinery for effective waste management and disposal of plastic".