Ex situ conservation

We might not think of plants or insects when we think of wildlife conservation - but all these organisms contribute to the biodiversity of a region. In the recent past, several species of organisms have become extinct (have died out), or are endangered (about to go extinct). This is a problem of national interest to several regions with high biodiversity, and so governments step in to help conservation efforts. Imagine you were in danger, and the police set up guard all around your neighborhood. This is an example of in situ protection; which literally means 'on site protection'. Here, the species of interest is protected along with its habitat or ecosystem. The species is left largely undisturbed, and can remain in its natural environment, performing its usual activities. When do you think it would be useful to perform in situ conservation? Surely all species should ideally be protected this way, right? As you can imagine, it is not easy to set up such large conservation sites, which can also be quite expensive to manage. Another factor to consider is the number of individuals that need protection - animals that move in packs, or like to range across large distances will require a lot of space to live in, thus making in situ conservation more convenient. If there aren't many individuals of a species left in the wild, they can be taken out of their habitats and protected in special places designed for their safety. The botanical gardens we mentioned are an example of this ...

Date published: August 11, 2020 Accelerating the shift to a clean economy will unleash a wealth of new job opportunities in renewable energy, manufacturing and infrastructure. But what will happen to the workers, families and communities dependent on fossil fuels as a key economic driver? How will they be protected and prepared? The ongoing decline in coal jobs and its impact on communities — from West Virginia to Wyoming — highlights the need for proactive policies. It also provides relevant examples of what could happen to other fossil fuel workers and communities if serious action to ensure a fair transition is not taken. How are energy jobs changing? Over the last century, fossil fuels — coal, oil, and natural gas — have dominated the energy mix in the United States and powered sectors across the economy. But that mix is changing. In the last decade, the US has seen a 40% decline in coal-fired power generation, one of the most significant uses of coal. And coal mining has been in decline well before the last decade: Over 100,000 coal jobs have been lost since the mid-1980s. [On the left] Coal plants in 278 counties have retired since 2000. This map shows these counties and nearby counties (within 5 miles). Source: EIA. [On the right] Coal mining jobs have declined by two-thirds since 1985. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. The impacts of COVID-19 on the energy sector have exacerbated the trend of job displacement that was already underway due to the shifting economic...

getty The Growing Importance Of Renewable Energy With climate change continuing to grow in extent and impact, the shift to renewable energy sources has become imperative. While the environmental benefits of this gradual shift to using greener and cleaner raw materials to generate energy cannot be stressed enough, growth in the renewable energy space is also set to open up a myriad of new and promising avenues for investments. There are many long-term opportunities here to take advantage of. For businesses, this may come in the form of increased margins because of financial incentives or infrastructural support from the government. For investors, this could mean more under-the-radar investment options–something to help diversify their portfolios into the much-talked-about ESG (environmental, social and governance) space. Headwinds & Tailwinds In The Face Of The Transition As the world transitions towards renewable energy, the space is now propelled by more tailwinds than the headwinds it is facing. While headwinds such as the high cost of renewable energy production and project delays continue to weigh down the pace of growth and advancement in the sector, we’re also seeing strong demand, new and increased incentives, and cost competitiveness serving as key tailwinds enabling this transition. The Covid pandemic did bring about supply chain disruptions, interconnection bottlenecks, transmission limitations and trade policy uncertainty–impacting investment into and developmen...

Imagine a world where farms grow nutritious food and raise healthy livestock without harming the environment. Where every village, town and city are powered by clean energy and cities have safe, affordable, and non-polluting transit systems. Where people have jobs that drive the sustainable growth story of the future. This world is within our reach, but only if we confront the challenges we face today. Over the past year, COVID-19 devastated communities, slowed economies and pushed The World Bank Group is increasing its financing to help countries address the pandemic and climate change -- because a sustainable future depends on the "Good development is good for climate and climate action can unlock better development outcomes”, said World Bank Climate Change Global Director Bernice von Bronkhorst. A forthcoming five-year And expanding basic services like water, sanitation, energy and digital connectivity would improve the health, education and skills of millions of people, help them cope with climate change – and enable countries to emerge stronger from COVID-19. “We can achieve a massive transformation to a low-carbon economy, and at the same time continue to grow and create jobs, by mobilizing the innovation and capital of the private sector,” said Vivek Pathak, Director of Climate Business at IFC, the World Bank Group’s private sector arm. Ramesh Dudiwadia, a salt pan worker, cleans his solar panels as the sun rises in Little Rann Off Kutch, India. Photo © Dominic Chav...

The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.” Renewables are widely perceived as an opportunity to shatter the hegemony of fossil fuel-rich states and democratize the energy landscape. Virtually all countries have access to some renewable energy resources (especially solar and wind power) and could thus substitute foreign supply with local resources. Our research shows, however, that the role countries are likely to assume in decarbonized energy systems will be based not only on their resource endowment but also on their policy choices. Author:• | Oct. 04, 2022 Amid heated debates about the factors that led Russia to invade Ukraine on February 24, 2022, it helps to distinguish between deep, intermediate, and immediate causes. But while each can matter in their own ways, war need not be considered inevitable even when they are all present. Russia's war in Ukraine is the most disruptive conflict that Europe has seen since 1945. Wh...

Photo: The head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, has been claiming that Environmentalists have been The reality is that wind and solar are only cheap during the early stages of transition. Until now, renewables have been viable because of the massive base of fossil fuel generation that On the surface, Europe’s woes are due to soaring natural gas prices as the global economy bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic. But the underlying problem is that as countries like Germany and Britain have built out their wind and solar capacity, the energy supply becomes more unpredictable and variable, thus increasing reliance on gas to make up for when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. And gas prices are Getting past fossil fuels means finding ways of storing the excess electricity that’s generated when there’s too much wind and sun and releasing it later when there’s not enough. Right now, we can do this cheaply with To make matters worse, we are quickly using up the best locations for wind and solar. These are places near to existing transmission lines that receive strong and steady wind or sun. To build out more renewables, we will need to lay out thousands more miles of transmission lines to reach remote windy and sunny areas. Peter Fox-Penner, author of Power After Carbon, estimates that the United States’ All of this new technology and infrastructure will have to be paid for by someone. While Environmentalists, politicians, and regulators need to be...

How can we speed up the transition to renewable energy? Our vision is for a clean, green, and equitable energy future. The world needs at least a nine-fold increase in renewable energy production to meet the Paris Agreement climate goals and much more to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. The rapid transition to renewable energy will be good for people and the planet. But the land-use footprint for this buildout will be large because renewable energy infrastructure requires a lot of land—especially onshore wind and large-scale solar installations. This raises the potential for land-use conflicts over renewable energy.We need to go smart to go fast—deploying renewable energy in ways that support goals for climate, conservation, and communities. Driving the Energy Transition By delivering innovative strategies grounded in leading science, partnerships, public policy, and market-based approaches, TNC is helping catalyze a rapid renewable energy buildout that safeguards nature and supports an equitable transition for communities. TNC is currently focusing on the United States, Europe, and India, and piloting strategies in Africa, China, and Latin America.We are working with multilateral institutions and partners around the world to share knowledge and influence commitments, to support a low conflict, low carbon, and community-friendly renewable energy future. The Purpose-Driven Toolkit is an integrated suite of clean energy procurement resources that embed 3C principles. It i...

Four key climate change indicators – greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise, ocean heat and ocean acidification – The key to tackling this crisis is to end our reliance on energy generated from fossil fuels - the main cause of climate change. “The good news is that the lifeline is right in front of us,” says UN Secretary-General António Guterres, stressing that renewable energy technologies like wind and solar already exist today, and in most cases, are cheaper than coal and other fossil fuels. We now need to put them to work, urgently, at scale and speed. Make renewable energy technology a global public good For renewable energy technology to be a global public good - meaning Essential technologies such as battery storage systems allow energy from renewables, like solar and wind, to be stored and released when people, communities and businesses need power. They help to increase energy system flexibility due to their unique capability to quickly absorb, hold and re-inject electricity, says the Moreover, when paired with renewable generators, battery storage technologies can provide Improve global access to components and raw materials A robust supply of renewable energy It will take significant international coordination to expand and diversify manufacturing capacity globally. Moreover, greater investments are needed to ensure a just transition - including in people’s skills training, research and innovation, and incentives to build supply chains through sustainable...

You can also practice NCERT Solutions for Class 7 Geography Chapter 1 Extra Questions and Answers Environment Environment Class 7 Extra Questions and Answer Geography Chapter 1 Very Short Answers Type Question 1. What is natural environment comprised of? Answer: The natural environment comprises of land, water, air, plants and animals. Question 2. What is Hydrosphere? Answer: Hydrosphere is domain of water. It comprises various sources of water such as rivers, lakes, seas, oceans, etc. It is essential for all living organisms. Question 3. What holds the gravitational force of earth. Answer: The atmosphere holds the gravitational force of earth. Question 4. When is the World’s Environment Day celebrated? Answer: The World’s Environment Day is celebrated on 5 June every year. Question 5. How is atmosphere useful for us? Answer: The atmospheric layer is very useful for us. It protects us from the harmful sun rays called ultraviolet rays and scorching heat of the sun. Question 6. What is an ecosystem? Answer: Ecosystem is a system formed by the interaction of all living organisms with each other and with the physical and chemical factors of the environment in which they live, all linked by transfer of energy and material. Question 7. What is meant by environment? Answer: The place, people, things and nature that surround any living organism is called environment. Question 8. How is environment made? Answer: It is a combination of natural and human made phenomena. Question 9. W...

Hint: Biodegradable materials are the ones that, through natural processes, can be degraded into certain usable forms. The microorganisms present in our community, such as bacteria and other decomposer organisms (called saprophytes), are unique in their behavior. Materials or items made of natural materials (such as paper, food) are broken down, but man-made materials such as plastics are not broken down. Complete answer: Biodegradable waste is considered waste that is capable of being quickly broken down or decomposed by the actions of microorganisms. The microbes can quickly disassemble fruit peels, cake, lime juice, wood, and grass. Fruits are organic substances which can be introduced by microorganisms and converted into simple organic substances by the process of decomposition. The fruits are made of cellulose and pectin that can be broken down by the microbial enzyme that is secreted. Examples of biodegradable materials include human and animal excreta, plant products such as rubber, paper, wood, leaves, cotton and wool, living organisms' remains, cooking waste, and agricultural waste. Additional Information: Non-biodegradable waste is one that cannot be decomposed or dissolved by natural agents. They have stayed for thousands of years on earth without any deterioration. Examples of non-biodegradable materials include glass, plastics, electrical devices, computer parts, batteries, medical waste, plastic bags, plastic bottles, tetra-packs, and carbon paper. The enviro...