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Coral Reefs- These are shallow water tropical marine ecosystems characterized by high biomass production and rich flora and fauna diversity. In India, four coral reefs have been identified. These are Gulf of Mannar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep Island & Gulf of Kutch. |
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Maximum salinity is found in tropical areas where heat of the sun is greatest and rainfall lowest. At the equator, the temperature is high, but the rate of evaporation is low due to high humidity and frequent rains. Thus salinity is not found to be greatest on the equator. |
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It has been estimated that around 8000 years ago, more than six billion hectares (around 40%) of the earth’s surface was covered by forests. Today the figure has come down to a mere 3.6 billion hectares. |
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Metals are classified as light metals and heavy metals in terms of their density. Light metals have a density of less than 5.0 g/ cm3 (Li, K, Ca, Al etc). Heavy metals are those which have a density of more than 5.0 g/ cm3. Lithium is the lightest metal with density of 0.53 g/cm3 while Osmium is the heaviest metal with density of 22.5 g/cm3. |
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One kg of cow dung cakes= 0.050 liter of kerosene- 0.283 Kg of firewood- 0.420 Kg of Charcoal = 0.382 KWH of electricity = 0.035 kg. of domestic cooking Gas. |
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India’s transport system is one of the largest in the world. It serves a land area of 3.3 million Km2 and consists mainly of roads, railways and air services. Road transport with the total estimated road length of about 3.4 million Km is now the dominant mode. |
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The “hole” in the stratospheric ozone layer over the Antarctic – the layer that protects people from harmful ultraviolet radiation – is now the largest it has ever been and is not expected to recover until between 2060 and 2075. United Nations Environment Programme, 2007. Global Environment Outlook 4: Summary for Decision Makers. |
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Radon: The cosmic rays coming out from sunlight contain radon which also effects human as well as plant life today. Nuclear effluents when released into the air are potentially more hazardous to environment. Several Nucleides like Carbon -14, Strontium -90, Iodine-131, Krypton-85, Caesium- 137, Hydrogen-3 etc. pose serious threat to atmosphere. |
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Total Municipal Solid Waste generated in the year 2000 by high income countries is 85,000,000 tonnes. Middle income countries generated 34,000,000 tonnes in the same year and low income countries generated 158,000,000 tonnes of Municipal Solid Waste. Larger Population means greater waste. |
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10 cum of biogas = 6.0 cum of natural gas = 3.3 litres of butane = 7.0 litres of gasoline =6.1 litres of diesel fuel |
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Pollutant & Contaminant- Pollutant is a substance present in nature in amounts greater than natural abundance because of human activity and has adverse effect on the environment and from there on living organisms and mankind. A contaminant is a substance which does not occur in nature but introduced by human activity into the environment, affecting its composition. A pollutant may or may not be a contaminant. |
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An important feature of FLY ASH is that as concentration of metals increases , the size of particles decreases. When inhaled the 10 to 1 micron size particles are caught in the nasal mucus. 75% of which are swallowed. On reaching the stomach most of the metals are extracted by the gastric juices and easily enter the body fluid. |
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