The document introduces the concept of an Environmental Balance Sheet (EBS)1. Here's a review highlighting its features, significance, applicability, and some concluding remarks based on the sources:

Novel Features

The Environmental Balance Sheet is presented as a new concept

1. Its novelty lies in framing the human interaction with the environment as an accounts statement, analogous to a financial balance sheet.
2. This balance sheet involves two sides: liabilities and assets, Liabilities represent what is taken from the environment or causes damage to it, while assets represent contributions for the betterment of the environment.
3. The idea is that both sides need to be equal, reflecting a balanced or sustainable interaction2 . It aims to move beyond mere summary to provide insightful detail about impact.

Significance

The significance of the Environmental Balance Sheet is manifold:

1. Promoting Consciousness: It is intended to help people understand how they affect the environment and develop consciousness and responsible attitudes towards it .
2. Guiding Action: By providing a clear picture of environmental impact, it aims to promote protective action3 and initiate corrective actions where there is unfavourable balance .
3. Structuring Interaction: It provides a structured mechanism for assessing and managing human interaction with the environment.
4. Informing Decisions: The EBS is suggested as a tool for making decisions at various levels, from individual choices to large-scale project approvals. It's even humorously suggested as being "more useful than horoscope in selecting a life partner.
5. Global Integration: There is a suggestion to recommend the EBS concept to international bodies like the World Bank, WTO, and IMF, potentially linking its impact to financial aid or employment promotion5 .

Applications

The Environmental Balance Sheet is designed to be applied at numerous levels and timeframes:

• Levels: It should be prepared for every individual, every industry, every municipality or municipal corporation, districts, states, and for the whole nation . The document explicitly lists these levels as Individual, Household, Municipal level, District level, State level, National level, and International level.
• Timeframes: The preparation frequency can vary, from daily for individuals/industry to weekly, bi-monthly, quarterly, annually, and even 5-yearly for international levels.
• Specific Use Cases: The EBS can be used to understand an individual's contribution and impact , to measure the impact of a municipal area , and for the approval process of projects like commercial establishments, housing, roads, and dams . It serves as a tool for continuous monitoring and evaluation.
• Educational Integration: It is suggested that preparing an individual environmental balance sheet be introduced as a subject in educational curriculum to foster environmental consciousness among students .

A Proforma of a Daily Environmental Balance Sheet for an Individual illustrates the type of items recorded. Liabilities include items like oxygen consumed, water consumed (drinking, bathing, washing), power consumption, food consumed, materials consumed (paper, plastics, clothes, wood), various wastes generated (solid, liquid, gaseous), and other damaging activities . Assets include actions like plantation, sunlight/wind power use, sanitation work, purification/treatment efforts, waste recycling, using waste for useful purposes (biogas, fertilizers), and any other efforts for the environment's betterment .

Concluding Remarks

The sources suggest that the Environmental Balance Sheet is a necessary and insightful tool for addressing the profound impact humans have on the environment. By drawing an analogy to financial accounting, it provides a structured and potentially intuitive way for individuals, institutions, and governments to measure their environmental footprint. The goal is to instill a deep awareness and motivate concrete actions towards environmental preservation and improvement at all scales. It's proposed as a fundamental shift in how humanity views and interacts with the natural world, aiming for a balanced, sustainable relationship. The widespread applicability and potential integration into policy, education, and even personal life underscore the significance the author places on this concept.