Explained: How cars can run on hydrogen

Explained: How cars can run on hydrogen Why in news? Ahead of next July’s Tokyo Olympics, Japan is gearing up to put on its roads thousands of vehicles based on a hydrogen cell technology, also known as ‘fuel cells’. How it works? Fuel used: Hydrogen + Oxidant Process:  Produced electricity by an electrochemical process Fuel…

Call of the River

Recently, Lok Sabha passed the amendment to Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. The Bill is yet to be discussed in the Rajya Sabha. It proposes a permanent tribunal and several other measures to improve the settlement of inter-state river water disputes. The resolution of water dispute is governed by the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. According to…

A Better Way of Waste Management

The first rule of waste management all over the world is that households must segregate their waste before it is collected from the doorstep. Also, the Solid Waste Management Rules 2016 in India prescribe the same. Waste segregation can help Indian cities ‘get’ cleaned up, as current modes of solid waste disposal just make the city to…

Ozone Layer Preservation

International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer is celebrated on September 16 to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol, one of the most successful environmental treaties. The Montreal Protocol has led to the phase-out of 99% of ozone-depleting chemicals in refrigerators, air-conditioners and many other products. However, the ozone hole still occurs every year, like a clockwork, in the…

Explained: How world is losing fertile land

The UNCCD meeting takes place every two years and the ongoing one in Greater Noida is the 14th such meeting. Since this meeting is taking place in India this time so it becomes significant for UPSC. Why is desertification a concern? A variety of factors, both natural and human-induced, are known to be affecting the…

A case for a differential global carbon tax

Introduction Climate change is a global problem, and a global problem needs a global solution. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report suggests that we, as humankind, might have just over a decade left to limit global warming. The IPCC says total global emissions will need to fall by 45% from 2010 levels…

A New Ethics for a Sustainable Planet

In the background of recurring natural calamities, it is required to formulate a new sustainable policy for the future of the planet. Natural Calamities: Brazil’s Amazon forests are ablaze with dozens of fires. Most of them were set intentionally by loggers and others seeking greater access to forest land. The fires are paving the way for a global climate catastrophe. How…

Environmental Conservation with Grassroot Governance

Context Flood and landslides (Kerala) of 2018 caused huge financial losses and the same repeated in 2019. Considering the above scenario, powers and responsibilities conferred on citizens under provisions such as the 73rd and 74th Amendments to the Constitution, and the Biological Diversity Act, 2002 are being sidelined. Background The Western Ghats are regarded as one of the eight ‘hottest’ biodiversity hotspots in the…

A bottom-up approach to conservation

Issue: The 2018 floods and landslides in Kerala that caused huge financial losses and manifold human tragedies were thought of as a once-in-a-century calamity, and that normalcy will return soon. Further, the probability of two such back-to-back events was only 1 in 10,000. Hence, in 2019, a repeat of the shocking train of intense floods,…

Climate Change and Land

Context Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recently, on 8th August, released Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) which finds that we must dramatically change the way we use land to limit global warming to safe levels by 2030. It is alarmed about the degrading land resources globally and its impact on furthering negative effects of climate change. It…