UPSC Environment Ecology Prelims National Parks

2021-07-10 15:30:07 Methane Budget

Recently, international team of scientists has published an update on the global methane budget as part of the Global Carbon Project.

Methane is emitted from a range of anthropogenic sources like landfills,agriculture, and fossil fuels, as well as natural systems like wetlands.

It is the second most important greenhouse gas that humans are contributing to.

Since pre-industrial times, increases in atmospheric methane have contributed to a quarter of the climate-warming effect from greenhouse gases.

But unlike carbon dioxide, methane has a shorter lifetime in the atmosphere.

Report Highlights - If big changes are brought in our emissions, methane can be removed relatively quickly.

They estimated annual global methane emissions at nearly 570 million tons for the 2008 to 2017 decade.

This is 5% higher than emissions recorded for the early 2000s and the equivalent of 189 million more cars on the world‘s roads.

Anthropogenic sources like agriculture, waste, and fossil
fuels contributed to 60% of these emissions, while wetlands made up for the largest natural source of methane.

Global wetland methane emissions remained largely unchanged between the last decade and the early 2000s,these landscapes have continued to introduce some of the greatest uncertainties in estimating the global
methane budget.

Wetlands are estimated to make up 20% to 30% of the global methane budget, but emissions vary by latitude.

The fluxes are larger in the tropics than in the high latitudes and temperate zones. Open / Comment

2021-07-09 15:30:07 E-Waste

E-Waste is short for Electronic-Waste and the term used to describe old, end-of-life or discarded electronic
appliances.

It is categorized into 21 types under two broad categories:
1. Information technology and communication equipment.
2. Consumer electrical and electronics.
3. E-waste includes their components, consumables, parts and spares.

It consists of toxic elements such as Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Chromium, Polybrominated biphenyls and
Polybrominated diphenyl.

E-waste consisting of gold, silver, copper, platinum and other high-value, recoverable materials was mostly dumped or burned rather than being collected for treatment and reuse.

It can cause some of the major health effects including serious illnesses such as lung cancer, respiratory problems, bronchitis, brain damages, etc. due to inhalation of toxic fumes, exposure to heavy metals and alike.

It is an environmental hazard causing groundwater pollution, acidification of soil and contamination of groundwater and air pollution due to the burning of plastic and other remnants.

Recent Developments - According to a recent United Nations University (UNU) report, global e-waste will increase by 38% in the decade between 2020 and 2030.

Asia generated the greatest volume (around 24.9 MT) followed by the Americas (13.1 MT) and Europe (12 MT). Africa and Oceania generated 2.9 MT and 0.7 MT respectively.

UNU is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organization headquartered in Japan.

UNU‘s mission is to resolve the pressing global problems of human survival, development and welfare that are the concern of the United Nations, its peoples and the member states. Open / Comment

2021-07-08 15:30:03 Indian Gaur

●Indian gaur (Bos gaurus) falls in the group of wild oxen, which include bison, true cattle, African Buffalo and Asiatic Buffalo.

●Gaur is the state animal of Goa and Bihar.

●The ancestors of gaur have been traced back from 20 million years ago, and are largely confined to India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

●Gaur can be found in tropical to semi-wet evergreen forest, bamboo forest and tropical moist to dry deciduous forest.

● India has three main detached pockets where this massive herbivore thrives, these include Central Indian Highlands, Eastern Ghats (Odisha) up till North-East and Western Ghats to the Nilgiris plateau.

● It is categorized as vulnerable in the IUCN Red list of threatened species, 2009 and listed in schedule-1 of Indian wildlife (protection) act, 1972 Open / Comment

2021-07-07 15:30:02 Endangered species of India

#environment Open / Comment

2021-07-06 15:30:02 #Species_IUCN_red_list

Komodo dragon

Komodo dragons are the largest and heaviest lizards on Earth.

They have long, flat heads with rounded snouts, scaly skin, bowed legs, and huge, muscular tails.

Komodo dragons can eat almost anything, including invertebrates, birds, and mammals like deer, pigs, and even large water buffalo.

They have venom glands loaded with toxins which have been shown to secrete anticoagulants.

The venom lowers blood pressure, causes massive bleeding, and induces shock.

Conservation:

IUCN Status: Vulnerable.

CITES: Appendix I. (The commercial trading of live specimens or any parts, dead or alive of Komodo is prohibited.) Open / Comment

2021-07-05 15:30:02 BLACK FOREST

This is a mountainous region of southwest Germany, lying to the east of the Rhine valley.

Its highest point is 1493m above the sea level.

It is covered with evergreen coniferous forests.

Forest-based industries like lumbering, paper, pulp, and other industries like food-processing, electronic goods, light machinery, and chemicals are the main commercial centres of this region. Open / Comment

2021-07-04 15:30:02 India’s National Action Plan on Climate Change :

The implementation of the Plan includes public private partnerships and civil society action.

The focus will be on promoting understanding of climate change, adaptation and mitigation, energy efficiency and natural resource conservation.

The National Action Plan hinges on the development and use of new technologies.

There are Eight National Missions which form the core of the National Action Plan. Open / Comment