Current Affair 1:

About Bioenergy crops:

 

Fossil fuels have solved our energy problems since the beginning of the industrial revolution that started in the eighteenth century. However, from past few decades, the world has seen an unprecedented and uncontrolled use of fossil fuels. In the current era, we heavily rely on fossil fuels for energy demands. It is undeniably true that fossil fuels hold the credit of shaping our world, but on the cost of environmental and related hazards. The negative environmental impacts of fossil usage are now being realized, and the search for alternative energy sources has begun.

Bioenergy crops are one such energy source that could positively impact the environment to reduce the level of carbon dioxide, emission of greenhouse gases and soil erosion. The biofuel generation using fast growing and photosynthetically efficient bioenergy crops is emerging as a reliable alternative to fossil fuels.

• Bioenergy plants increase soil carbon and fix atmospheric carbon.
• In addition, bioenergy crops (miscanthus, sorghum and poplar) could also be used for the phytoremediation of heavy metal-contaminated soils.
• The bioenergy crops include specific plants that are grown and maintained at lower costs for biofuel production.
• The bioenergy crops are classified into five types namely, first-, second- and third-generation bioenergy crops, dedicated energy crops and halophytes.
• The first-generation bioenergy crops include corn, sorghum, rapeseed and sugarcane, whereas the second-generation bioenergy crops are comprised of switchgrass, miscanthus, alfalfa, reed canary grass, Napier grass and other plants. The third-generation bioenergy crops contain boreal plants, crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plants, eucalyptus and microalgae.

Current Affair 2:

National Green Tribunal

 

About:

Composition:

The chairperson shall be appointed by the central government in consultation with the chief justice of India. Judicial member & expert member shall be appointed on the recommendations of select committee as provided by the central government.

Chairperson, judicial member & expert member shall hold office for a term of 5 years but shall not be eligible for re- appointment.

Removal and suspension of Chairperson, Judicial Member and Expert Member:

Jurisdiction:

Current Affair 3:

Lead poisoning

 

Lead exposure that, in turn, causes cardiovascular diseases (CVD), chronic kidney diseases and idiopathic intellectual disability, is said to be responsible for nearly 45 per cent or close to half of these deaths in 2019, according to the WHO report.

Over 0.9 million people died from exposure to lead. Of these, close to 9 out of every 10 persons died from CVD due to lead exposure. In fact, the deaths due to lead exposure have also increased by a disturbing 67 per cent since 2016

Lead is added to paints for various reasons, including enhancing the colour, reducing corrosion and decreasing the drying time.

The world is lagging behind in controlling lead use. Just 41 per cent of countries including India, have legally binding controls on the production, import, sale and use of lead paints, according to the WHO.

According to the report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), only 13 countries have laws which prescribe that lead concentration should not be more than 90 particles per million (ppm). These countries are: India, the United States (US), Bangladesh, Canada, Cameroon, China, Ethiopia, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Nepal and the Philippines.

 

Current Affair 4:

Black Carbon

 

Black carbon, or soot, is part of fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) and contributes to climate change.

Black carbon is formed by the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, wood and other fuels. Complete combustion would turn all carbon in the fuel into carbon dioxide (CO2), but combustion is never complete and CO2, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and organic carbon and black carbon particles are all formed in the process. The complex mixture of particulate matter resulting from incomplete combustion is often referred to as soot.

Black carbon is a short-lived climate pollutant with a lifetime of only days to weeks after release in the atmosphere.

During this short period of time, black carbon can have significant direct and indirect impacts on the climate, the cryosphere (snow and ice), agriculture and human health.

WHAT ARE SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANTS? Short-lived climate pollutants are powerful climate forcers that remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than carbon dioxide (CO2), yet their potential to warm the atmosphere can be many times greater. Certain short-lived climate pollutants are also dangerous air pollutants that have harmful effects for people, ecosystems and agricultural productivity. The short-lived climate pollutants black carbon, methane, tropospheric ozone, and hydrofluorocarbons are the most important contributors to the man-made global greenhouse effect after carbon dioxide, responsible for up to 45% of current global warming. If no action to reduce emissions of these pollutants is taken in the coming decades, they are expected to account for as much as half of warming caused by human activity.

Current Affair 5:

United Nation General Assembly

 

Established in 1945 under the Charter of the United Nations, the General Assembly occupies a central position as the chief deliberative, policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. Comprised of all 193 Members of the United Nations, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the Charter. It also plays a significant role in the process of standard-setting and the codification of international law.

Each member has one vote.

All UN Member States are represented in the General Assembly. Each Member State has one vote. Decisions on such key issues as international peace and security, admitting new members and the UN budget are decided by a two-thirds majority. Other matters are decided by simple majority. Many decisions are reached by consensus without a formal vote.

In recent years, an effort has been made to achieve consensus on issues, rather than deciding by a formal vote, thus strengthening support for the Assembly’s decisions.

How President is elected?

Any Member State can put forward a candidate for President of the General Assembly (PGA).  He/she is not required to be, but always has been, a citizen of the Member State presenting the candidacy. The PGA is elected in his/her personal capacity and for the duration of the term of office represents the membership as a whole.

The Member State of the PGA cannot at the same time hold the office of Vice-President or Chair of a Main Committee.  Thus, the five permanent members of the Security Council, who are always Vice-Presidents, cannot hold the office of the PGA.

The President is elected by a simple majority vote of the GA.  The President is elected at least three months before formally assuming office, usually in mid-June.  This allows him/her to prepare and to assemble a team before the GA session begins in September.

What is the role and mandate of the PGA?

The PGA is the guardian of the GA Rules of Procedure but has no say in the actual decision-making of the GA – in fact, the PGA does not have a vote in the GA.  Even on procedural matters, the PGA always remains under the authority of the GA.

The Charter of the UN establishes only the function of the PGA.  The exact role and mandate have been defined and agreed on by the GA and are described in the GA Rules of Procedure, in GA revitalization resolutions, and in other GA resolutions which assign responsibilities and tasks to the PGA.

Just read once:

How are the Vice-Presidents elected?

The GA elects the twenty-one Vice-Presidents for the next session on the day of the election of the PGA.  Like the PGA, the Vice-Presidents formally assume office at the opening of the GA session.  The five permanent members of the Security Council are always among the Vice-Presidents.  To ensure balanced geographical representation, the remaining Vice-Presidencies are distributed among the regional groups as follows:

• 6 members from the Group of African States
• 5 members from the Group of Asian States
• 1 member from the Group of Eastern European States
• 3 members from the Group of Latin American States
• 2 members from the Western European or other States Group

 

 

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