2. • Introduction to Environment
Communication
• Case Studies:-
National- Bhopal Gas Tragedy
International- Gulf Oil Spill
• Conclusion
3. • Environment Communication is the study of
sharing of information related to environment and its
prospects.
• The wide umbrella of Environment Communication
caters to different area like:-
Studying the components of the Environment
Analyzing the factors affecting the environment
Critically assessing disasters and its aftermath
Bringing out campaigns to spread awareness
4. AIM:- to present an overview of 1 National and
1International campaign that commenced after a
man-made disaster.
PROCEDURE:-
• Detailed research on the Cause and Effect of
the disaster.
• Government and First-party intervention.
• Highlighting public awareness by campaigns
conducted to spread awareness.
7. • Gas leak from Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL)
pesticide plant’s storage tank.
• The cause of the disaster remains under debate.
The Indian government and local activists argue that slack
management and deferred maintenance created a situation
where routine pipe maintenance caused a backflow of water
into a MIC, tank triggering the disaster.
Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)
contends water entered the tank
through an act of sabotage.
8. • The initial effects of exposure were coughing, severe eye irritation
and a feeling of suffocation, burning in the respiratory tract,
breathlessness, stomach pains and vomiting. People awakened by
these symptoms fled away from the plant. Those who ran inhaled
more than those who had a vehicle to ride. Owing to their height,
children and other people of shorter stature inhaled higher
concentrations.
• Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was
2,259. The government of Madhya Pradesh confirmed a total of 3,787
deaths related to the gas release
9. • Greenpeace India Campaign(Bhopal gas Tragedy). Led
by Ms. Karuna Raina
• Bhopal Group for Information and Action. Led by Ms.
Rachna Dhingra
They indulged in Street protest; hunger strikes, self-
immolation and appeals were made to economic
valuation of the environment.
• A local journalist Rajkumar Keswani published a series
of reports exposing safety lapses in the plant.
The headline of his first article in September 1982
screamed: “Save,please, this city.”
His last report was published in a national Hindi
newspaper Jansatta and local newspapers in June1984 in
which he warned of the impending disaster. Six months
later catastrophe struck.”
10. • More than 2000 animals were dead from the effect of the gas and
were disposed of all together in the nearby river.
• In 2009, Narain’s Organization made a report stating that the found
samples from around the site contained chlorinated benzene
compounds and organochloride pesticides which were 561 times
higher than the national standard.
• Activists have proved that since the site wasn’t cleaned; the
groundwater so extracted has toxic chemical waste making the
water contaminated for more than 20,000 people in the area.
• In 2007, 1,029,517 cases were registered and decided. Cases awarded
were 5,74,304 while 4,55,213 were rejected. Total compensation
awarded was US $250 million.
11. • Legal proceedings involving UCC, the United States and Indian
governments, local Bhopal authorities, and the disaster victims started
immediately after the catastrophe.
• The Indian Government passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Act in March 1985,
allowing the Government of India to act as the legal representative for
victims of the disaster, leading to the beginning of legal proceedings.
• In March 1986 UCC proposed a settlement figure, endorsed by
plaintiffs' U.S. attorneys, of $350 million that would, generate a fund for
Bhopal victims.
• In May, litigation was transferred from the United States to Indian courts by
U.S. District Court Judge. Following an appeal of this decision, the U.S.
Court of Appeals affirmed the transfer, judging, in January 1987, that UCIL
was a "separate entity, owned, managed and operated exclusively by Indian
citizens in India".
12. The Bhopal gas tragedy had severe Environmental
Impacts:-
Visible: Biodiversity loss, Food insecurity (crop damage),
Genetic contamination, Loss of landscape/aesthetic
degradation.
Potential: Air pollution, Global warming, Soil
contamination, Waste overflow, Surface water pollution /
Decreasing water quality, Groundwater pollution or
depletion.
Estimated loss of Life:- 10, 000 human lives, over 2000 cattle
and over 200 acres of agricultural land.
The movie- Bhopal: Prayer for Rain gives a striking account
of the catastrophe.
14. • Spill Date: 20 April – 15 July 2010
• Place- Gulf of Mexico near Mississippi
River Delta, United States.
15. • On 20 April 2010, high-pressure methane gas from the well expanded
into the drilling riser and rose into the drilling rig, where it ignited and
exploded, engulfing the platform
• The explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig, a sea-
floor oil gusher flowed for 87 days, until it was capped on 15 July
2010.
• The US Government estimated the total discharge at 4.9 million
barrels (210 million US gallons)
16. • In 2013 it was reported that dolphins and other marine life continued
to die in record numbers with infant dolphins dying at six times the
normal rate.
• One study released in 2014 reported that tuna and amberjack that were
exposed to oil from the spill developed deformities of the heart and
other organs that would be expected to be fatal or at least life-
shortening.
• Another study found that cardiotoxicity might have been widespread
in animal life exposed to the spill.
• A risk that increase in microbial activity might reduce subsea oxygen
levels, threatening fish and other animals
17. The US campaign group Public Citizen initiated a ‘Lets
Help Ourselves’ campaign:-
Responders used 5.5 million feet of boom (a barrier
placed in water) to collect and absorb oil.
Over 30,000 people responded to the spill in the Gulf
Coast working to collect oil, clean up beaches, take care
of animals and perform various other duties.
The campaign was highlighted in the regional and
national newspapers.
18. • Number of wildlife species threatened by the spill. Threatened species
include sea life such as whales, tuna and shrimp; dozens of species of birds;
land animals such as the gray fox and white-tailed deer; and amphibians
such as the alligator and the snapping turtle.
• At least 30 species of birds the Audubon Society says are potentially
threatened by the oil spill. These include marsh birds, ocean-dwelling birds
and migratory songbirds. Among the most vulnerable species is the brown
pelican which was only recently removed from the endangered species list.
The spill is especially devastating for bird populations because it coincides
with the beginning of breeding season.
• 25 million number of birds that traverse the Gulf Coast per day, and which
are potentially at risk from the oil spill. According to the LA
Times Greenspace Blog, "Late spring is the peak time for neo-tropical
songbirds moving from the Yucatan Peninsula to make their first landfall in
Louisiana," and "more than 70% of the country's waterfowl frequent the
gulf's waters."
19. • About a month after the oil spill, Transocean announced that they
would provide $500 million to fund an independent research
program that would study the impacts of the spill on the
environment and public health.
• At the outset, the twenty-person GoM board adopted five main
research themes to focus on:
o physical movement of the oil and dispersant,
o degradation of the oil and its interaction with the ecosystem,
o environmental effects of the oil and dispersant,
o development of technology for improved response and remediation,
o the effects of oil and dispersant on human health.
• GoM funded studies have examined where the oil went after the spill,
and how the oil affected many types of marine life, including deep-sea
coral ecosystems, seabirds, and jellyfish, to name just a few.
20. • A method of treating the oil spill, "in-situ burning" or
burning oil in a contained area on the surface of the
water, was adapted by the Government. It has
negative effects on the environment.
• Over 8,000 animals (birds, turtles, mammals) were
reported dead just 6 months after the spill, including
many that were already on the endangered species
list.
• Keeping aside the role of Government, the public
aided in a large scale to check the menace in every
way possible.
21. My case studies were based on the campaigns done on the ‘Bhopal Gas
Tragedy’ and the ‘Gulf Oil Spill’. Both the disasters were catastrophic in nature
and the massacre caused by them is impending. People associated with both
the disasters are still bearing the brunt of the calamity.
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy throws light on the carelessness of the imperials that
took away umpteen lives. The fault lay on both sides of the coin as the then;
Indian Government led by Rajiv Gandhi, gave a clean chit to the mother
company and also aided the culprits to elope away from India. The aftermath
of the tragic occurrence has left its mark in several ways, one being the
genetically damaged babies being born in the city of Bhopal.
On the other hand the Gulf Oil Spill caused major threat to the marine beings.
Due to the blockage of sunlight into the sea, many phyto-planktons had to
disappear; this in turn led to imbalance in the deep sea ecosystem. A large
number of sea birds lost their lives too, as their wings were coated with the
grease and hence they could not fly.
Both the disasters were man-made and could be certainly avoided at various
levels. The local governments should be more aware of the issues hovering
around the area. I believe that active public participation is the key to reduce
the harmful and fatal effects of these disasters. Media played a huge role in
bringing out awareness of the impending upshots.
