UPSC Pathshala: current affairs & GS for UPSC/PSC: Ecology

Ecology: one-liners.

Digging in the past:--

Water Pollution Act: 1974.
Methemoglobinemia: is Blue Blood Disease.
Nitro-Oxide: is released by Supersonic Planes.
1^st Ozone Conference: Montreal (Canada), 1987
CFL emits: Hg.
Auto-Battery emits: Lead.
Diesel Engine emits: Nitrogen Oxide.
Biodiversity is highest in Prairies.
El Nino: warm current.
Puga Valley (J & K, Ladakh Region): is famous for its Geothermal Energy Potential.
Shri Badri Nath: Houses hot water tank for bathing, enabled by Geothermal Energy.
Manikaran (H.P.): famed for hot springs.
CoP(Earth Summit): is an annual conference discussing Climate Changes, Since Rio Conference. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental Treaty 1992 and opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio De Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. It then entered into force on 21 March 1994, after a sufficient number of countries, had ratified it. The UNFCCC's objective is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the Climate System. The framework sets non-binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the framework outlines how specific international treaties (called "protocols" or "Agreements") may be negotiated to specify further action towards the objective of the UNFCCC.
The Climate Changes:
Impacts of Climate Changes:

Biofuel: obtained from plant material to produce Bioethanol & Biodiesel.
Syngas: is the gas obtained from Biodegradable Municipal Waste through process of Incarnation & Gasification.
Asbestos Fibres: causes Lung Cancer.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wilf Flora ): CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals. It was drafted as a result of a resolution adopted in 1963 at a meeting of members of the international union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) This convention was opened for signature in 1973 and CITES entered into force on 1 July 1975.
Eutrophication: it is nothing but the excessive addition of Nitrates and Phosphates through Fertilizers and sewer. Eutrophication, or hypertrophication, is when a body of water becomes overly enriched with minerals and nutrients which induce excessive growth of algae. This process may result in oxygen depletion of the water body.
Algae Bloom: it is nothing but enhanced growth of Aquatic vegetables. An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems, and is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from their pigments.
·        Bio-Diversity Hot-SpotH: areas where there is a high concentration of Endemic Species and is suffering from habitat loss or distortion. A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region with significant levels of biodiversity that is threatened by human habitation.

·        Anoxic Water: Anoxic waters are areas of seawater, freshwater, or groundwater that are depleted of dissolved oxygen. The US Geological Survey defines anoxic groundwater as those with a dissolved oxygen concentration of less than 0.5 milligrams per liter.

·        Hypoxia: It is the situation of Anoxic Water, having 0% concentration of Dissolved Oxygen.

·        Hypoxic or Dyoxic water: water is having a concentration of D.O. between 1% to 30%.

·        Exaerobic: when the area D.O. concentration lies between two.

·        Dead Zones: Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water. Currently there are some 400 dead zones worldwide.·

Biomagnification: This implies the concentration of Toxic in successive magnification by Toxic Compound that passes forth via Food Chain. Biomagnification, also known as bio-amplification or biological magnification, is any concentration of a toxin, such as pesticides, in the tissues of tolerant organisms at successively higher levels in a food chain.

It is all due to the excessive exploitation of resources that led to this devastating situation. Hence, To avoid it, we should adopt for

Sustainable Development.