General Comprehension (UPSC) (Part-VII)

1. Collection, processing and segregation of municipal waste should be with government agencies.

2 Resource recovery and recycling require technological inputs that can be best handled by private sector enterprises.

Which of the assumptions given above is/are correct?

In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very little for processing/resource recovery and disposal. Where does waste-to-energy fit into all this? Ideally it fits in the chain after segregation (between wet waste and the rest), collection, recycling, and before getting to the landfill.

Technology is most appropriate in converting waste to energy depends on what is in the waste (that is biodegradable versus non-biodegradable component) and its calorific value. The biodegradable component of India municipal solid waste is a little over 50 per cent, and bio methanation offers a major solution for processing this.

In India, the segregation of municipal waste at source is rare. Recycling is mostly with the informal sector. More than three-fourths of the municipal budget goes into collection and transportation, which leaves very little for processing/resource recovery and disposal. Where does waste-to-energy fit into all this? Ideally it fits in the chain after segregation (between wet waste and the rest), collection, recycling, and before getting to the landfill.

Technology is most appropriate in converting waste to energy depends on what is in the waste (that is biodegradable versus non-biodegradable component) and its calorific value. The biodegradable component of India municipal solid waste is a little over 50 per cent, and bio methanation offers a major solution for processing this.

1. Organic farming is inherently unsafe for both farmers and consumers.

2. Farmers and consumers need to be educated about eco-friendly food.

Which of the Assumptions given above is/are correct?

There is a claim that organic farming is inherently safer and healthier. The reality is that because the organic farming industry is still young and not well-regulated in India, farmers and consumers, alike, are not only confused about what products are best for them.

But sometimes use products in ways that could harm them as well. For example, since organic fertilizers are difficult to obtain on a large scale in India, farmers often use farmyard manure, which may contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

Certain plant sprays, such as Datura flower and leaf spray, have an element called atropine. If it is not applied in the right dose, it can act on the nervous system of the consumer. Unfortunately, how much and when to use it are not well-researched or regulated issues.

There is a claim that organic farming is inherently safer and healthier. The reality is that because the organic farming industry is still young and not well-regulated in India, farmers and consumers, alike, are not only confused about what products are best for them.

But sometimes use products in ways that could harm them as well. For example, since organic fertilizers are difficult to obtain on a large scale in India, farmers often use farmyard manure, which may contain toxic chemicals and heavy metals.

Certain plant sprays, such as Datura flower and leaf spray, have an element called atropine. If it is not applied in the right dose, it can act on the nervous system of the consumer. Unfortunately, how much and when to use it are not well-researched or regulated issues.

1. To implement the Sustainable Development Goals and to achieve zero-hunger goal, monoculture agriculture practices are inevitable even if they do not address malnutrition.

2. Dependence on a few crops has negative consequences for human health and the ecosystem.

3. Government policies regarding food planning need to incorporate nutritional security.

4. For the present monoculture agriculture practices, farmers receive subsidies in various ways and government offers remunerative prices for grains and therefore they do not tend to consider crop diversity.

Which of the above assumptions are valid ?

Food consumption patterns have changed substantially in India over the past few decades. This has resulted in the disappearance of many nutritious foods such as millets, While food grain production has increased over five times since independence, it has not sufficiently addressed agriculture sector focused on increasing food production particularly staples.

Which led to lower production and consumption of indigenous traditional crops/grains, fruits and other vegetables, impacting food and nutrition security in the process. Further, intensive, monoculture agriculture practices can perpetuate the food and nutrition security problem by degrading the quality of landing water and food derived through them.

1 Global warming is causing spring to come early and for longer durations.

2. Early spring and longer period of spring is not good for bird populations.

Which of the above assumptions is/are correct?

Scientists studied the vernal window-transition period from winter to the growing season. They found that Warmer winters with less snow resulted in a longer lag time between spring events and a more protracted vernal window.

This change in the spring timetable has ecological, social and economic consequences for agriculture, fisheries and tourism. As the ice melts earlier, the birds don't return, causing a delay, or lengthening in springtime ecological events.

A global analysis of nitrone use efficiency a measure of the amount of nitrogen a plant takes in to grow versus what is left behind as pollution says that using too much fertilizers will lead to increased pollution of waterways and the air.

Currently, the global average for nitrogen use efficiency is approximately 0.4, meaning 40 per cent of the total nitrogen added cropland goes into the to the environment, says as study. More than half of the world's population is nourished by food grown with fertilizers containing synthetic nitrogen, which is needed to produce high crop yields.

Plants take the nitrogen they need to grow, and the excess is left in the ground, water and air. This results in significant emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse and ozone depleting gas, and other forms of nitrogen pollution, including eutrophication of lakes and rivers and contamination of river water.

Along with sustainable lifestyles, climate justice is regarded as a significant principle in environmental parlance. Both the principles have bearings on political and economic choices of the nation. So far, in our climate change summits or compacts, both the principle have eluded consensus among nations. Justice, in the judicial sense, is well defined.

However, in the context of climate change, it has scientific as well as socio-political connotations. The crucial question in the next few years will be how resources, technologies and regulations are used to support the victims of climate change.

Justice in climate, is not confined to actions relating to mitigation, but includes the wider notion of support for adaptation to climate change and compensation for loss and damage.

Sourcing food from non-agricultural lands (uncultivated systems such as forests, wetlands, pastures, etc.) in addition to agricultural lands enables a systemic approach to food consumption. It allows rural and tribal communities to sustain themselves for the whole year and steer clear of natural disasters and season-induced shortfalls of agricultural food. Since the productivity of trees is often more resilient to adverse weather conditions than annual crops, forest foods often provide a safety net during periods of food shortages caused by crop failure; forest foods also make important contributions during seasonal crop production gaps.

While awareness on use/misuse and abuse of antibiotics is common knowledge, as is the impact of dosing poultry with antibiotics, the environmental impact of antibiotics-manufacturing companies not treating their waste has scarcely been discussed at any length or seriousness thus far.

Pollution from antibiotics factories is fueling the rise of drug-resistant infections. The occurrence of drug-resistant bacteria surrounding the pharma manufacturing plants is well known.