General Awareness

ENVIRONMENT - June 2019

Jun 2019

Mar 06, 2020

In 15 Years, Amazon Forest May Turn into CO2 Source

As per reports, the world's tropical forests are rapidly losing their ability to absorb carbon dioxide from greenhouse gas emissions, with the Amazon rainforest at risk of turning from carbon sink to source within 15 years.
Tropical forests provide humans with medicine, food, shelter and water and currently account for around half of all terrestrial carbon absorption.
But they are rapidly getting saturated as man-made emissions continue to climb year on year. Forests act as a carbon sink when the amount of carbon retrieved through photosynthesis outweighs that emitted by tree loss - be that through fire, drought or deforestation. The rate of forest decline varies throughout the world, with the Amazon's absorption ability dropping far faster than the tropical forests of sub-Saharan Africa.
A team of dozens of Europe- and Africa-based researchers monitored tree growth and mortality data from undisturbed forests across 11 countries in Africa stretching back over 50 years.
They then compared that data with similar measurements taken across more than 300 plots of Amazon rainforest.

Mar 04, 2020

Gardens and Graveyards of Coral Discovered off Australia's Coast

The South Australian coast is surrounded by a labyrinth of underwater canyons, many of them still unexplored. Last week, an international team of researchers (and their underwater robot companion) completed a survey of three such canyons, uncovering a hidden world of both thriving coral gardens and ash-white coral graveyards.
According to the expedition members, the fate of these hidden ecosystems, which sit in the immediate path of the increasingly warm water flowing out of Antarctica's Southern Ocean, could be a preview of how farther-flung ocean life will react to ongoing global warming.

Mar 03, 2020

Onshore Wind to Make Comeback in UK

According to a government decision, the cheapest form of new power in the UK - onshore wind - is set to make a comeback.
Ministers previously blocked projects after complaints from local campaigners that they were a blot on the landscape.
The government responded by denying onshore wind the chance to bid for a price guarantee for the electricity they produce.
They also gave local protestors a definitive say in the planning process.
This meant it was virtually impossible for wind farms to gain permission.
Environmentalists said the decision was irrational, and today the government has opened the way for onshore wind farm developers to bid for price support.
But the government still wants local people to have a strong say in the decision where they are built. That means relatively few are expected in congested England.

Feb 28, 2020

China to Send 'Duck Army' to Fight Locusts

China is planning to dispatch a 100,000-strong army of ducks to help Pakistan combat a massive locust infestation. The legion of lotus-eating waterfowl will be sent from the eastern province of Zhejiang following the earlier dispatch of a team of Chinese experts to Pakistan to advice on a response to the infestation that is being called the worst in 20 years.

Feb 27, 2020

Animal that Can Live Without Oxygen

Scientists have discovered an animal that does not need oxygen to produce energy needed for its survival, a finding that changes one of science's assumptions about the animal world.
The tiny, less than 10-celled parasite Henneguya salminicola lives in salmon muscle.
As it evolved, the animal, which is a relative of jellyfish and corals, gave up breathing and consuming oxygen — or became anaerobic — to produce energy.
"Aerobic respiration was thought to be ubiquitous in animals, but now we confirmed that this is not the case," said Dorothee Huchon, a professor at Tel Aviv University (TAU) in Israel.
The researchers noted that the parasite's anaerobic nature was an accidental discovery.

India 5th most Polluted Country

In accordance with the "2019 World Air Quality Report-Region & City PM2.5 Ranking" compiled by IQAir AirVisual, India ranked 5^th as the most polluted country in the world and topped in an annual list of cities with the worst air quality in the world. The report has been prepared by monitoring the real time data to tackle the urgent issue of air pollution.
Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted country for PM2.5 exposure. It is followed by Pakistan, Mongolia, Afghanistan, and India at 2^nd, 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th place respectively.
Bahamas ranked 98th as the cleanest country with an average of 3 µg/m³.
World's most Polluted Countries 2019 (PM2.5): India – 5^th rank
World's most Polluted Cities 2019 (PM2.5): Ghaziabad, India – 1^st rank
World's Most Polluted Capital Cities 2019 (PM2.5): Delhi, India – 1^st rank

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