Environment & Ecology Mixed Quiz: Set 13

The correct answer is D, 2019. The National Clean Air Programme was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in January 2019 as a national framework to cut particulate pollution in cities that do not meet the national ambient air quality standards. It works city by city, through action plans prepared with the State Pollution Control Boards and monitored by the Central Pollution Control Board.

Option A, 2018, is the year the draft of the programme was put out for comments, which is why it is the most tempting wrong answer. Option B, 2017, predates the proposal altogether. Option C, 2020, is later than the launch and is sometimes confused with the creation of the Commission for Air Quality Management for the national capital region, which came afterwards. Remember 2019 for the programme, and remember that its legal backing comes from the Air Act of 1981 and the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986.

The correct answer is D, Space Research. Space research is not one of the Sustainable Development Goals. The United Nations General Assembly adopted seventeen such goals in September 2015 as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, with 169 targets to be met by 2030; they replaced the Millennium Development Goals, which ran from 2000 to 2015. The seventeen cover poverty, hunger, health, education, gender equality, clean water, energy, decent work, industry, inequality, cities, responsible consumption, climate action, life below water, life on land, peace and justice, and partnerships. Option A is wrong because Gender Equality is Goal 5. Option B is wrong because Zero Hunger is Goal 2. Option C is wrong because Good Health and Well-being is Goal 3. In India NITI Aayog tracks state progress on the goals through its SDG India Index. Exam tip: 17 goals, 169 targets, adopted 2015, target year 2030; Goal 1 is No Poverty and Goal 17 is Partnerships for the Goals.

The correct answer is C, Sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide, released when coal and oil containing sulphur are burnt, is oxidised in the atmosphere to sulphur trioxide, which dissolves in water droplets to give sulphuric acid. The oxides of nitrogen give nitric acid in the same way, and together they bring rain whose pH falls below about 5.6, the value of normal rain made mildly acidic by dissolved carbon dioxide. Option A is wrong because carbon monoxide is a poison that acts on haemoglobin and does not form an acid in rain. Option B is wrong because methane is a greenhouse gas and not acidic. Option D is wrong because argon is a noble gas, chemically inert, and takes no part in such reactions at all. Acid rain lowers the pH of lakes and soils, releases toxic aluminium from soil minerals and corrodes limestone and marble buildings, which is why it is treated as a pollution problem that crosses borders.

The correct answer is D, B, C and D. Mulching means covering the bare ground between plants with straw, dry leaves or crop waste, so that the soil holds moisture and raindrops cannot beat the topsoil loose. Contour barriers are stones, grass or soil bunds laid along the contour of a slope; water collects in trenches in front of them and runs off slowly instead of carrying soil downhill. Shelter belts are rows of trees planted across the direction of the wind, and they cut the wind's speed so that it cannot lift loose soil, a method used with success in the sandy western parts of India. Statement A is not a conservation method at all: heavy use of chemical fertilizers over the years makes the soil acidic or salty, kills the organisms that keep it fertile and damages its structure. A, B and C are wrong because each of them includes statement A. Exam tip: mulching, contour barriers, terrace farming, shelter belts and rock dams conserve soil.

The correct answer is C, 1986. The Act was passed in the wake of the Bhopal gas tragedy and gives the central government a general power to take any measure it considers necessary to protect and improve the quality of the environment. Because so many rules are framed under it, on hazardous waste, noise, plastic waste, electronic waste and environmental impact assessment, it is called an umbrella legislation.

Option A, 1974, is the year of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, which created the pollution control boards. Option B, 1981, is the year of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, which extended the work of those boards to air quality. Option D, 1991, is the year of the Public Liability Insurance Act, which requires industries handling hazardous substances to carry insurance for accident victims. The trap in this question is to answer 1984, the year of the accident rather than of the Act.

The correct answer is A, Sardar Sarovar. The Narmada Bachao Andolan grew up against the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada.

The movement began in 1985 under Medha Patkar, with Baba Amte and others joining later. It argued that raising the dam's height would submerge villages and forests in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and that the people displaced were not being resettled properly. The protest used fasts, rallies and the courts, and in 1993 it made the World Bank withdraw from the project. The Supreme Court allowed construction to continue in 2000 with conditions on rehabilitation.

Option B, Bhakra Nangal, is on the Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Option C, Rihand, is in Uttar Pradesh on a tributary of the Son. Option D, Tehri, on the Bhagirathi in Uttarakhand, had its own protest led by Sunderlal Bahuguna, not the Narmada Bachao Andolan.

Exam tip: Narmada Bachao - Medha Patkar, Sardar Sarovar; Chipko and Tehri - Sunderlal Bahuguna.

The correct answer is B, Sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide from industry and traffic around Agra is oxidised in the air and comes down as sulphuric acid, which attacks the calcium carbonate of marble. The stone loses its polish, turns yellow and develops a pitted, flaking surface, and the popular name for this decay is marble cancer. It was concern over this damage that led to restrictions on polluting industry in the Taj Trapezium Zone. Option A is wrong because carbon dioxide makes rain only mildly acidic and is the driver of global warming, not of this corrosion. Option C is wrong because chlorofluorocarbons deplete the ozone layer. Option D is wrong because ground-level ozone harms lungs, crops and rubber rather than marble. The same acid attack explains the decay of other limestone and marble monuments, so a question naming any such building and asking for the gas responsible is almost always answered by sulphur dioxide.

The correct answer is B, Turns to steam at high pressure. This describes geothermal energy. Molten rock pushed up from deep inside the Earth collects as hot spots at shallower depths, and groundwater trapped near them is heated until it becomes steam under high pressure. When a pipe is sunk into such a hot spot the trapped steam rushes up, and its pressure is used to turn the turbine of a generator, giving electricity without any fuel. New Zealand, Iceland and the United States use this source on a large scale, and in India the Puga valley in Ladakh and Tattapani in Chhattisgarh are the best known sites. A is wrong because heat cannot turn water to ice. C is wrong because water near hot rocks is heated, not cooled. D is wrong because water merely flowing out would carry no pressure to drive a turbine. Exam tip: geothermal energy is renewable and comes from the Earth's internal heat; Puga valley, Ladakh.

The correct answer is C, 2010. The National Green Tribunal Act was passed in 2010 and the tribunal began work in the same year, to provide quick and specialised disposal of cases on environmental protection and forest conservation. Its principal bench is at New Delhi, it has zonal benches at Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai, and it is headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court.

Option A, 1995, is the year of the National Environment Tribunal Act, an earlier attempt that never really functioned and was superseded by the 2010 Act. Option B, 2006, is the year of the Forest Rights Act and also of the amendment that made the National Tiger Conservation Authority statutory. Option D, 2016, is the year of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act. Only 2010 belongs to the tribunal, and the tribunal's decisions are appealable to the Supreme Court.

The correct answer is B, Pinjore. India's first vulture breeding centre, the Jatayu Conservation Breeding Centre, was set up at Pinjore in the Panchkula district of Haryana in 2001. It was started because the population of white-backed, long-billed and slender-billed vultures had crashed by more than ninety per cent in the 1990s. The cause was diclofenac, a painkiller given to cattle, which caused kidney failure in vultures that fed on the carcasses; its veterinary use was banned in India in 2006. The centre breeds these three critically endangered species in captivity and releases them into the wild. Option A is wrong because Pushkar in Rajasthan is known for its lake and the Brahma temple. Option C is wrong because Rampur in Uttar Pradesh has no such centre, though a vulture centre works at Rani in Assam. Option D is wrong because Agra is known for the Taj Mahal and a bear rescue facility. Exam tip: Pinjore in Haryana for vultures, and diclofenac as the reason for their decline.

The correct answer is C, 2.5 micrometres or less. Particulate matter is graded by the diameter of the particles measured in micrometres, so PM10 means particles of ten micrometres or less and PM2.5 means particles of 2.5 micrometres or less, which is about thirty times finer than a human hair. This fine fraction matters most for health because the nose and throat cannot filter it out; it travels deep into the lungs, settles in the alveoli and can pass into the bloodstream. Option A is wrong because a millimetre is a thousand times larger than a micrometre, a size no longer suspended in air. Option B is wrong because a nanometre is a thousand times smaller. Option D is wrong because a centimetre-sized particle is not particulate matter at all.

The correct answer is B, 5th June. The United Nations General Assembly named 5 June as World Environment Day in 1972, and the day has been observed every year since 1974. The date recalls the opening day of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972, the first big world meeting on the environment. The same conference led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme, or UNEP, which leads the celebrations each year. Every year the day has a new theme and a host country; India hosted it in 2018 with the theme 'Beat Plastic Pollution'. A is wrong because May's main environment date is 22 May, the International Day for Biological Diversity. C is wrong because July has World Population Day on 11 July, not World Environment Day. D is wrong because 5 August is not linked with this day at all. Exam tip: 22 April, Earth Day; 22 May, Biodiversity Day; 5 June, World Environment Day; 16 September, World Ozone Day.

The correct answer is B, the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974. The Board was created by that Act to advise the central government, to lay down standards for effluents and to coordinate the work of the State Pollution Control Boards, which were set up by the same law in the states.

Option A, the Air Act of 1981, did not create the Board; it entrusted the existing Board with additional functions relating to air quality, which is exactly why this option is the popular wrong answer. Option C, the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, is the umbrella law under which most environmental rules are framed, but the Board predates it by twelve years. Option D, the Factories Act of 1948, deals with the safety, health and working conditions of factory workers and creates inspectorates, not pollution boards. The pairing to remember is Water Act 1974 with the Boards, Air Act 1981 with their extra duties.

The correct answer is C, Polythene bag. Polythene is a synthetic plastic that bacteria and fungi cannot break down, so it is non-biodegradable. A plastic bag can stay in soil or water for hundreds of years. Biodegradable waste is anything that decomposers can break down into simple, harmless substances, and it usually comes from plants or animals. Plastic bags choke drains and cause waterlogging, are swallowed by cattle and sea animals, and give off toxic gases when burnt, which is why their use must be reduced and the bags reused and recycled rather than thrown away. Waste is best kept in two bins: wet (biodegradable) and dry (non-biodegradable). A is wrong because vegetable peels rot within days and make good compost. B is wrong because dead leaves decay into humus that enriches the soil. D is wrong because a rotting fruit is already being broken down by microbes. Exam tip: if microbes can eat it, it is biodegradable; plastic, glass, metal cans and DDT are not.

The correct answer is D, phasing out of ozone-depleting substances. The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987 under the Vienna Convention, commits its parties to phasing out chlorofluorocarbons, halons and other chemicals that destroy stratospheric ozone, and it is regarded as the most successful environmental treaty for that reason. Option A is wrong because greenhouse gas emissions are the subject of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement under the climate convention. Option B is wrong because wetlands of international importance are protected under the Ramsar Convention of 1971. Option C is wrong because trade in endangered species is regulated by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. A note worth carrying into the exam hall is that 16 September is observed as World Ozone Day, marking the day the Montreal Protocol was adopted, and that the Kigali Amendment later brought hydrofluorocarbons within the same treaty.

The correct answer is C, It is a community based rain water harvesting system. A johad is a small crescent-shaped earthen dam that villagers build together to catch and store rainwater. It is used mainly in Rajasthan and Haryana, where rain is scarce and falls in only a few months of the year. The water held behind the bund is used for cattle and farming, and much of it soaks into the ground, refilling wells and raising the water table. In Alwar district of Rajasthan, villagers working with the Tarun Bharat Sangh built many johads, and the Arvari river, which had dried up, began to flow again. A is wrong because a johad does not pump groundwater; it helps to recharge it. B is wrong because it collects rainwater running off the land, not water drawn from rivers. D is wrong because a johad is a storage structure, not a water filter. Exam tip: johad, Rajasthan and Haryana; kul, western Himalayas; bamboo drip irrigation, Meghalaya; zing, Ladakh.

The correct answer is B, Chennai. The Authority was set up under the Biological Diversity Act of 2002 and is based at Chennai in Tamil Nadu. It regulates access to India's biological resources and the sharing of benefits arising from their use, and it works through State Biodiversity Boards and Biodiversity Management Committees at the local level.

Option A, New Delhi, is where the ministry and the principal bench of the National Green Tribunal sit, and candidates often assume every national authority must be there. Option C, Dehradun, is the headquarters of the Forest Survey of India, of the Wildlife Institute of India and of the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education, so it belongs to a different set of bodies. Option D, Hyderabad, hosted the eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2012, which is why it appears here as a distractor, but it is not the seat of the Authority.

The correct answer is B, Poor. The National Air Quality Index has six bands: 0 to 50 is Good, 51 to 100 Satisfactory, 101 to 200 Moderate, 201 to 300 Poor, 301 to 400 Very Poor and 401 to 500 Severe. A sub-index is computed for each pollutant for which enough data are available, and the worst of these sub-indices becomes the AQI of the day, the pollutant responsible being named as the prominent pollutant. Option A is wrong because Moderate covers 101 to 200. Option C is wrong because Very Poor begins only at 301. Option D is wrong because Severe is the topmost band, from 401 to 500, at which even healthy people are affected and emergency restrictions are usually imposed. The index is published for eight pollutants, so it is worth memorising the bands as three pairs: fifty and a hundred, two hundred and three hundred, four hundred and five hundred.

The correct answer is A, the Forty-second Amendment of 1976. It added Article 48A to the directive principles, asking the state to protect and improve the environment and to safeguard forests and wildlife, and Article 51A, clause g, to the fundamental duties, laying the same obligation on every citizen. The same amendment also shifted forests and the protection of wild animals and birds from the State List to the Concurrent List.

Option B, the Forty-fourth Amendment of 1978, undid several changes of the emergency period and removed the right to property from the fundamental rights. Option C, the Seventy-third Amendment of 1992, gave constitutional status to panchayats. Option D, the Eighty-sixth Amendment of 2002, made elementary education a fundamental right under Article 21A. Only the Forty-second Amendment carries the environmental provisions, and it is also the amendment that introduced the fundamental duties in the first place.

The correct answer is A, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981. This Act is the specific law on air pollution. It empowers the Central and State Pollution Control Boards to lay down emission standards for industry and for vehicles, to declare air pollution control areas and to require consent before a polluting plant is set up or operated. Option B is wrong because the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, passed after the Bhopal gas tragedy, is the umbrella law covering all media of the environment rather than air alone. Option C is wrong because the Water Act of 1974 concerns water pollution, though it is the Act under which the Central Pollution Control Board was first created. Option D is wrong because the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 protects species and habitats.