Activities of man right from birth to death on this earth are deeply related to social issues. He while living in society cannot detach himself from social issues of life.
This is the reason that someone has rightly pointed out that society is the web of social relations and man is social animal. Social issues cover family, associations, institutions and communities. Perhaps family is the strongest agency of social issues.
While being in society he has to undertake a number of socio-economic activities such as industry, agriculture, transport, construction of roads, and buildings etc., for surviving in the society.
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These activities contribute much too environmental degradation (the act of lowering) including water, soil and ail etc.
Socio-economic development is the call of the day because everyone desires to have a higher and better standard of living. The geographical land area with man is reducing day by day due to growing population.
With the limited availability of land for cultivation purposes, the need for increasing the application of fertilizers: nitrogenous, phosphate and potash and also necessary for appropriate pest control through pesticides is being made in order to ensure more and more growth of both food and fiber.
These socio- economic activities hit environmental conditions. So the protection of the environment is an important issue of the day.
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There should be development without polluting the environment. Engineers in this respect have a major role to play. Many a time the question comes to our mind as to whether we want environment or development.
To this the straight reply is that, there should be development within the environment. One does not place these two things separate, i.e., development and clean environment. The real socio-economic development does not lie in producing and collecting material and non-material things but in having these things along with a clean and pollution free environment.