Environment & Biodiversity MCQs

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Global hectare used as a measurement of biocapacity of the entire earth. One global hectare is a measurement of the average biocapacity of all hectare measurements of any biologically productive areas on the planet earth.

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Solar energy does not generate waste or contaminate water, or cause any pollution—an extremely important factor given the scarcity of water. Unlike fossil fuels and nuclear power plants, wind energy has one of the lowest water-consumption footprints, which makes it a key for conserving hydrological resources.

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National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed a series of interactive maps and graphs to describe the global climate and how it has changed over time. They focus on 5 key climate indicators:
• carbon dioxide concentration
• global surface temperature
• Arctic sea ice
• land ice
• sea level

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Ecology is the scientific study of interactions among organisms and their environment, such as the interactions organisms have with each other and with their abiotic environment. Topics of interest to ecologists include the diversity, distribution, amount (biomass), number (population) of organisms, as well as competition between them within and among ecosystems.

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According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), automobile emissions are the number one source of carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds released into the atmosphere that are primarily responsible for air pollution. Industrial processes are the number two cause of lead pollution in the air, following automobile emissions.

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DDT (Dichloro-diphenyl trichloro ethane) is a persistent organic pollutant that is readily adsorbed into soils and sediments, which can act both as sinks and as long-term sources of exposure affecting organisms. It pollutes the ground water system which contaminates the entire food chain by severely affecting humans dependent on these.

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The most abundant organic compound in the terrestrial environment is cellulose. A type of carbohydrate, cellulose contains chains of glucose rings. Providing strength and rigidity, cellulose forms the cell walls of plants. Cellulose is the primary constituent of wood, making this organic compound the most abundant one on the surface of the Earth.

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In the gas tragedy that occurred at the Union Carbide India Limited pesticide plant in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, on 2-3 December 1984, over 500,000 people were exposed to toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other chemicals. An estimated 10,000 or more people died in human disaster.

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Lichens can be used as air pollution indicators, especially of the concentration of sulphur dioxide in the atmosphere. Air pollutants dissolved in rainwater, especially sulphur dioxide, can damage lichens, and prevent them from growing. This makes lichens natural indicators of air pollution.

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Ecological sanitation is a sustainable system for handling human excreta, using dry composting toilets. This is a practical, hygienic, efficient and cost-effective solution to human waste disposal. With this composting method, human excreta can be recycled into a resource (as natural fertiliser), which reduces the need for chemical fertilisers.