Environemntal Issues Flashcards
The gov of India has passed the _____ act to protect and improve the quality of our environment .
Environmental (protection) act
Environment act was passed in -
1986
_____ of thermal power plants , smelters and other industries release particulate and gaseous. Pollutants together with ‘harmless gases’ like =
Smokestacks
N2
O2
The pollutants from thermal smokestacks , smelters must be _____ out before releasing the harmless gases into the atm .
Separated/filtered
Most widely used method of removing particulate matter -
Electrostatic precipitator
Electrostatic precipitator can remove over ____% particulate matter present in the_____from a _____ .
99%
Exhaust
Thermal power plant
Electrostatic ppt has electrode wires that are maintained at _____volts ,which produce a ______ that releases ____ .
Several 1000 volts
Corona
Electrons
The collecting plates are grounded in an electrostatic ppt and attract the _____ .
Charged dust particles
( dust particles pass through the negative charged organ and in turn get negatively charged , therefore they are attracted by the positive collecting plates )
The velocity of air btw plates must be ____ to allow the _____ .
Low enough
Dust to fall
A scrubber can remove gases like _____ .
So2
In a scrubber , the exhaust is passed through a ______ .
Spray of water or lime
Scrubber cannot remove ____.
Particulate matter ( very very small )
According to _____ , particulate size of ____ in diameter is responsible for causing the greatest harm to human health .
Cpcb - central pollution control board
2.5 micrometer or less ( PM 2.5)
Particulate size of _____ are responsible for causing greatest harm to humans .
2.5 micrometer or LESS in DIAMETER
Fine particles of particulate matte can be inhaled deep into the lungs and can cause _____ and ___symptom ,_____ ,____ and damage to the lungs and premature deaths .
Breathing
Respiratory
Irritation
Inflammations
___alongwith use of ____ can reduce the pollutants they emit .
Proper maintenance of automobiles
Lead-free petrol or diesel
Catalytic converters having EXPENSIVE metals namely ____ and _____ as ____ are fitted into automobiles for reducing ______ .
Platinum-palladium
Rhodium
Catalysts
Emission of poisonous gases
As the exhaust passes though the analytic converters , __Are converted to ___ and ____ .
Unburnt hydrocarbons
CO2
H2O
Through catalytic converters , CO is change to ____and NITRIC OXIDE is changed to ______ .
CO2
N2 gas
Motor vehicles equipped with catalytic inverters should use ____ because ____ .
Unleaded petrol
Lead in the petrol inactivated the catalyst
In India , ______came into force in 1981 .
Air act ( prevention and control of pollution )
Air act was amended in _____to include noise as an __pollutant .
1987
AIR
Noise causes __and ____disorders in humans .
Psychological
Physiological
A brief exposure to extremely high level , _____ or more generated by TAKE OFF OF A JET PLANE OR ROCKET may damage eardrums .
150 dB
_____ to a relatively lower noise level of cities may permanently damage hearing abilities of humans .
Chronic exposure
Noise can cause _____ ,_____,_____ thus considerably stressing humans .
Sleeplessness
Inc heart beat
Altered breathing pattern
____of laws laid down in relation to noise like ______ of horn-free zones around hospitals and schools need to be enforced to protect ourselves from noise pollution .
Stringent following
Delimitation of horn-free zones
Reduction in noise in industries can be affected by use of ____ or by ____ .
Sound-absorbent materials
Muffling noise
Delhi has more cars than the states of ____ and ____ put together .
Gujarat
West Bengal
In 1990s , Delhi ranked __among the ___ most polluted cities of the world .
4th
41
Ir pollution problems in Delhi became so serious that a _____ was filed in the Supreme Court of India .
PIL(public interest limitation )
What was the consequence of PIL ?
All public transport was to be switched from diesel to CNG
All the buses of Delhi were converted to run on CNG by the end of ____ .
2002
How is CNG better than petrol ?
1) burns most efficiently
2) very little of it is left unburnt
3) CNG is cheaper than petrol
4) cannot be siphoned off by thieves and adulterated like petrol
Main problem of switching over to CNG is the -
Difficulty of laying down pipelines to deliver CNG through distribution points /pumps and ensuring uninterrupted supply .
Parallel steps taken in Delhi for reducing vehicular pollution -
Phasing out of old vehicles Use of unleaded petrol Low-sulphur petrol Use of catalytic converters Application of stringent pollution-level norms
More stringent norms for fuels means steadily reducing the ___ and ____ in petrol and diesel fuels .
Sulphur
Aromatic content
Euro III norms stipulate that SULPHUR be controlled at ______ in diesel and ______ in petrol .
350 ppm - diesel
150 ppm - petrol ⛽️
According to Euro III norms , AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS are to be contained at _____% of the concerned fuel .
42%
The goal of EuroIII according to the roadmap , is to reduce SULPHUR to ____ in petrol and diesel and bring down the level to ____ % .
50 ppm
35%
_____is equivalent to Euro II norms .
Bharat Stage II
______ are no more applicable in any of the cities of India .
Mass emission standards ( bharat stage II = Euro II norms)
According to an estimate , a substantial fall in CO2 and SO2 level has been found in Delhi btw ____and ____ .
1997
2005
The gov of India has passed the Water Act ( prevention and control of pollution ) ..
1974
A mere __% impurities make domestic sewage unfit for humans .
0.1%
In sewage treatment , ___ are relatively easy to remove . What is most difficult to remove are _______ .
Solids
Dissolved salts such as nitrates ,phosphates , other nutrients and toxic metal ions and organic matter
The 0.1% impurities in water consist of -
Suspended solids - sand, silt ,clay
Colloidal material - fecal matter ,bacteria, cloth , paper fibres
Dissolved materials. - nutrients ( nitrates , ammonia ,phosphates, sodium , calcium )
Domestic sewage primarily contains ____ , which readily decomposes - thanks to ___and ____ , which can multiply using these organic substances as ______ and hence utilise some of the components of sewage .
Biodegradable organic matter
Bacteria
Other microorganisms
Substrates
It is possible to estimate _____ by measuring BOD.
Amt of biodegradable organic matter in sewage water
Presence of large amts of nutrients in water also cause _____ , this is called ALGAL BLOOM .
Excessive growth of PLANKTONIC ( free-floating ) algae
__imparts distinct colour to the water bodies .
Algal bloom
Algal bloom causes __and ____ .
Deterioration of water quality
Fish mortality
Some __algae are extremely toxic to human beings and animals .
Bloom -forming
World’s most problematic weed -
Water hyacinth ( eichhornis crassipes )
Sewage from __and ____ may cause outbreak serious disease such as dysentery , typhoid , jaundice , cholera ,etc .
Homes
hospitals
Unlike domestic sewage , waste water from ___,like ___,_____etc often contain toxic substances , notably HEAVY METALS and a variety of organic compounds .
Industries Petroleum Paper manufacturing Metal extraction and processing Chemical manufacturing
Heavy metals are elements with DENSITY ____ such as __,__,___,____.
Density > 5 g/cm_3 Mercury Cadmium Copper Lead
Biomagnification occurs in the ___chain .
Aquatic food chain
Inc in conc of toxicant at successive trophic levels happens because _____ .
A toxic subs accumulated by an organism cannot be metabolized or excreted
Biomadnification is well known for -
Mercury
DDT
Conc of DDT in water -
0.003 ppb
Conc of DDT in fish eating birds -
25 ppm
Conc of DDT in zooplankton , small fish and large fish resp -
0.04 ppm
0.5 ppm
2 ppm
High levels of DDT disturb ____ in birds , which causes ____ and their ____ eventually causing decline in bird populations .
Ca metabolism
Thinning of eggshell
Premature breaking
Eutrophication is the natural aging of lake by ____ .
Nutrient enrichment of its water
In an OLD lake , streams draining into the lake introduce N and P , which encourage the ______ .
Growth of aquatic organisms
In a young lake ,the water is cold and clear , supporting _____ .
Little life
Due to eutrophication , the lake’s __inc , but ___burgeons .
Fertility
Plant and animal life
What is the ultimate result of eutrophication -
Organic remains get deposited lake bottom , lake gets shallower and warmer , , marsh plants take root in the shallows and begin to fill the lake basin , which gives way to large masses of floating plants (BOG ), finally converting to LAND .
As the lake gets shallower and warmer , ____ organisms supplant those that thrive in a ___.
Warm-water organisms
Cold environment
Depending on __,____ and ___ , the natural aging of lake takes thousands of yrs .
Climate
Size o lake
Other factors
Man’s activities like effluents from industries and homes can radically accelerate eutrophication - this is called -
Cultural or accelerated eutrophication
N and P act as plant nutrients and overstimulate ____ , causing _____ and ____ .
Growth of algae
Unsightly scum
Unpleasant odors
_____eliminates or reduces the number of organisms sensitive to high temp and MAY ENHANCE GROWTH OF PLANTS AND FISHES IN EXTREMELY COLD AREAS BUT , ONLY AFTER CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE INDIGENOUS FLORA AND FAUNA .
Heated thermal waste water , flowing out of electricity -generating units, ( thermal power plants )
An example of an initiative where waste wat has been treated using a mix of artificial and natural processes -
Arcata -northern coast of California
Collaborating with _____ from ______ , the ____created an integrated waste water treatment process within a natural system .
Biologists
Humboldt state university
Townspeople
The cleaning in arcata marsh occurs in __stages . Name -
2
1) conventional SEDIMENTATION , FILTERING and CHLORINE TREATMENT
2) six connected MARSHES over 60 hectares of marshland . Appropriate plant s, algae, fungi were seeded into this area .
After the 1st stage of cleaning process (sedimentation , filteration , chlorine ) , _____ like ____still remain .
Lots of dangerous pollutants
Heavy metals
To remove heavy metals , _____ was done ..
6 Marshes were created
Appropriate __,___,__and __were seeded into the marshes , which ____ ,___and ____ the pollutants ( heavy metals ).
Plants Algae Fungi Bacteria Neutralise Absorb Assimilate
As water passes through the marshes ,it gets purified ____.
Naturally
The marshes also constitute a ____ , with a high level of _____in the form of ___,____ and ____ that now reside there .
Sanctuary Biodiversity Fishes Animals Birds
A _grp called ______ are responsible for the upkeep and safeguarding of the arcata project ..
Citizen
Friends of arcata marsh ( FOAM )
______is a sustainable system for handling human excreta , using ____.
Ecological sanitation
Dry composting toilets
There are working ‘ECOSAN’ toilets in many areas of ____and ____ .
Kerala
Sri Lanka 🇱🇰
_____refers to anything that goes out in trash .
Solid wastes
___are wastes from homes ,offices ,stores ,schools ,hospitals etc .
Municipal solid wastes
___Reduces the volume of wastes .
Burning
___Are adopted as substitute for open -burning dumps .why ?
Sanitary landfills
In open dumps , wastes are not completely burnt and serve as breeding ground for rats and flies
There is danger of _____ from the LANDFILLS .
Seepage of chemicals , polluting the underground water resources .
All Wastes that we generate can be categorized into __types .name -
3
Bio-degradable
Recyclable
Non-biodegradable
The use of _____ is crucial to disposal of hospital waste . Why ?
Incinerators
Becoz they contain disinfectants and other harmful chemicals and pathogenic micro-organisms .
E-wastes are buried in ___or _____ .
Landfills
Incinerated
Over ____of the e-wastes generated in developed countries are exported to developing countries , mainly to ___,____and____ .
Half
China
India
Pakistan
By recycling e-wastes metals like __,___ ,__ ,___and ___ are recovered .
Copper Iron Silicon Nickel Gold
Unlike developed countries , recycling of e-wastes in developing countries often involves _____ thus ____ .
Manual participation
Exposing workers to toxic substances present in e-wastes
____ is the only solution for the treatment of e-wastes ,provided it is carried out in an environment - friendly manner .
Recycling
A PLASTIC SAC MANUFACTURER in _____ has managed to find the ideal sol to the problem of plastic waste .
Bangalore
____ , aged ____ had been producing plastic sacs for ___yrs .
Ahmed khan
57 yrs
20yrs
About ___yrs ago , Ahmed khan realised that plastic waste was a real problem .
8 yrs
______ , a fine powder of _____ w developed by Ahmed khan’s company.
Poly blend
Recycled modified plastic
Mixture of poly blend mixed with _____ is used for laying roads.
Bitumen
Blends of poly blend and bitumen when used for laying roads enhanced BITUMEN’S ____ and helped to inc the road life by a factor of ____ .
Water repelling properties
3
In collaboration with _____ and the ___ , Ahmed Khan proved that blends of poly blend and bitumen enhanced the prop of bitumen .
R.V college of engineering
Bangalore city corporation
Against the price of Rs.0.40 that rag pickers had been getting , khan offers ___ .
Rs 6
Using khan’s tech , by the year ___ , more than ___ km road in Bangalore has already been laid .
2002
40km
____is a cyclic ,zero waste procedure , where waste products from one process are cycled in as nutrients for other processes .
Integrated organic farming
_____ , a farmer in ____ is known for integrated organic farming .
Ramesh Chandra dagar
Sonipat
Ramesh Chandra dagar includes ___,___,____,____ and _____ in a chain of processes .
Bee-keeping Dairy management Water harvesting Composting Agriculture
Crop waste is used to create ____ , high can be used as a ___ or ____ .
Compost
Natural fertilizer
To generate natural gas to satisfy the energy needs of the farm .
Dagar has created _____with a current membership of ____ farmers .
Haryana kisan welfare club
5000 farmers
Initially , ____ was hailed as a non-polluting way for generating electricity .
Nuclear energy
Later on ,it was realised that use of nuclear energy has ____very serious ____problems .
2
Inherent
2 serious inherent problems with nuclear energy -
Accidental leakage
Safe disposal of radioactive wastes
Accidental leakage occurred in ____ and ____ .
3 mile island
Chernobyl disaster
At high doses , nuclear radiation is lethal but at lower doses , it creates various _____ , the most freq of all being _____ .
Disorders
Cancer
It has been recommended that storage of nuclear wastes , after sufficient PRE-TREATMENT should be done in suitably ____ buried with the ___ , about _____ m deep .
Shielded containers
Rocks
500m
The greenhouse effect is a ____ phenomenon .
Naturally occuring
Greenhouse gases absorb ____ from the earth nd emit it again towards the earth .
Long wave radiation ( infrared )
The cycle of absorption of infrared radiations from earth and emitting them back continues till _____.
No long wave radiation is left on the earth’s surface to emit
Without greenhouse effect , the avg temp of the earth would have been ____ rather than the PRESENT _____ .
-18 degree (chilly )
15 degrees
CLOUDS and GASES reflect about _____ of the incoming solar radiations and absorb some of it .
One -fourth
Almost ____of incoming solar radiation falls on the earth heating it , while a small proportion is reflected back .
Half
Earth’ surface re-emits heat in the form of _____ but part of it does not escape into space as _____ absorb a MAJOR FRACTION of it .
Infrared radiations
Atm gases. ( co2 , CH4 )
What role do greenhouse gases play in heating up ?
The molecules of the gases which absorb infrared rad radiate energy and a major part of which again comes to earth’s surface , thus heating it once again . This cycle is repeated many times
During the past century , the temp of earth has inc by ___ degrees , most of it during the past ____ .
0.6 degree
3 decades
Scientists believe that rise in temp is. Leading to ____ changes in the environment and resulting in ____ changes called _____ .
Deleterious
Odd climatic
El Niño effect
El NIno effect leads to inc ____ .
Melting of polar ice caps as well as of other places like the Himalayan snow caps .
Ozone layer is thinnest over _____ .
Antarctica
Ozone thickness is given in _______ .
Dobson units
The ozone hole over Antarctica develops each year btw ____and ____.
Late August
Early October
Bad ozone is formed in the ____atm called ____.
Lower
Troposphere
Bad ozone harms ____.
Plants and animals
Good ozone is formed in the upper part of the atm called ___.
Stratosphere
Us rays are highly injurious to living organisms since ____and ____ of living organisms preferentially ____ UV rays and its high energy breaks the ____ within these molecules .
DNA
Protein
Absorb
Chemical bonds
Ozone gas is continuously formed by the action of ____on ____and also degraded into_____ in the _____ .
UV rays
Molecular Oxygen
Molecular oxygen
Stratosphere
There should be a balance of ___and _____of ozone in the _____ .
Production
Degradation.
Stratosphere
The balance of ozone production and degradation has been disrupted due to enhancement of ____ .
Ozone degradation by CFCs
CFCs find wide use. ____ .
Refrigerants
CFCs discharged in the lower atm move upward and reach ___ .
Stratosphere
In stratosphere , __rays act on ___ releasing ___atoms .
UV
CFCs
Cl atoms
Cl formed from CFCs degrades __ , with these atoms acting merely as ____ .
Ozone releasing molecular oxygen
Catalysts
__act as catalysts for the degradation of ozone . Why ?
Cl atoms
Not consumed in the reaction.
Whatever Cl atoms are added to the stratosphere , they have. ____and ____ effects on Ozone levels .
Permanent
Continuing
UV radiation of wavelength SHORTER than ____ are almost completely absorbed by earth’s atm , given. That the ozon layer is intact .
UV-B
UV-B damage _____ and __may occur .
DNA
Mutations
Effect of UV-B on skin -
Aging of skin
Damage to skin cells
Various types of skin cancers
In human eye , ____ absorb UV-B radiation and a high doses of UV-B causes _____, called snow-blindness , ____ .
Inflammation of CORNEA
Cataract
Recognizing the deleterious effects of ozone depletion , an international treaty known as _____ was signed at _____ .
Montreal protocol
Montreal ( Canada )
Montreal. Protocol was signed in ___ and was effective in _____ to control the emission of OZONE DEPLETING subs .
1987
1989
Protocols have laid down ____ , separately for ___and ___ , for reducing the emission of CFCs and other ozone depleting chemicals .
Definite roadmaps
Developed and developing countries
_____of natural resources an occur by improper resource utilisation .
Degradation
Degradation of natural resources leads to -
1) soil erosion and desertification
2) water logging and soil salinity
When large barren patches extend and meet over time , a ____is created .
Created
Internationally , it has been recognised that ____ is a major problem nowadays , particularly due to urbanization .
Desertification
____without proper drainage of water leads to water-logging .
Irrigation
Besides affecting crops , water logging draws ____ .
Salt to the surface of the soil .
The increased salt content due to water logging is INIMICAL to the ___and extremely damaging to ____ .
Growth of crops
Agriculture
___and ____are some the problems that have come in the wake of GREEN REVOLUTION .
Water logging
Soil salinity
The salt is deposited as a thin crust on the land surface or starts collecting at the ____ .
Roots of the plant
Almost __% forests have been lost in TROPICS , compared to only __% in the TEMPERATE region .
40%
1%
At the beginning of te 20th century , forests covered about ___% of the land of India .
30%
By the end of the century , forest cover in India shrunk to ___% , where’s the national forest policy has recommended __% forest cover for PLAINS and ___% for the hills .
21.54%
33%
67%
National forest policy was made in___ .
1988
One of the major reasons for deforestation -
Conversion of forest to agricultural land to feed the growing human population
__agriculture has also contributed to deforestation .
Slash-and-burn
Slash and burn agriculture ,commonly called ___ in the __states of India .
Jhum cultivation
North-eastern sates
In slash and burn agriculture ,the farmers cutdown the trees and ______ .
And burn the plant remains
The ash in slash and burn agriculture is used as a ____ and the land is then used for _____. The farmers then ___.
Fertilizer
Farming or cattle grazing
Move on to other areas and repeat the process
In earlier days when Jhum cultivation was prevalent , ____was given so that the land recovered from ____ . With inc population and repeated cultivation , __Phase is done away with , resulting in deforestation .
Enough time-gap
the effect of cultivation
Recovery
Consequences of deforestation -
Enhanced CO2 conc in atm
Loss of biodiversity
Conc of CO2 inc in the atm due to deforestation becoz -
Trees could a lot of C in their biomass are lost
Deforestation causes loss of biodiversity due to _______ , disturbs ___ , causes ___and may lead to ___ in extreme cases .
Habitat destruction
Hydrologic cycle
soil erosion
Desertification
___ is a process of restoring forests that once existed but were lost .
Reforestation
Reforestation may occur ____ in a __area
Naturally
Deforested
In ___ , the king of jodhpur in Rajasthan asked his ministers to arrange wood for his palace .
1731
The __community is known for their peaceful existence with nature .
Bishnoi
A bishnoi woman , ____ hugged the tree .
Amrita Devi
The gov of India has recently instituted the _______ award for indivisuals or communities from rural areas that have shown extraordinary courage and dedication in protecting wildlife .
Amrita Devi bishnoi wildlife protection award
The chipko movement of ____ occurred in ___ .
Garhwal Himalayas
1974
In ___ , local women enormous bravery in protecting trees from the axe of contractors by hugging them .
1974
Releasing the significance of participation by local communities , the gov of India in ____ has introduced the concept of ___ .
1980s JFM (joint forest management )
In return for their services to the forest , the communities of JFM get benefit of various forest products e.g., ______ , and thus the forest can be conserved in a sustainable manner .
Fruits
Gum
Rubber
Medicine
