Ocean WildLife

The ocean covers two-thirds of the Earth's surface. This vast body of water is home to a great variety of plants and animals. On the ocean floor, there are underwater mountain ranges, plains covered with clays and mud like oozes, deep trenches, and submerged mountains called sea mounts. Animals live in all of these regions and in all depths of the ocean. Plants are restricted to the sunlit waters near the surface. Ocean wildlife is at its richest in the warm, shallow waters of coral reefs.

Waste disposal

This is one of the major environmental challenges being faced by many cities in India. Most of the cities don’t have adequate facilities for waste collection, transportation and disposal. Existing landfills are full beyond capacity. As a result, more than three-fourths of solid waste being generated in the city is not disposed off in a hygienic manner. It is being left to rot in open sites, burnt in dump sites, or finds its way to the sewers. All these lead to serious environmental problems. It is high time the municipal corporations, state governments, and policy makers take up the matter seriously.

In the recent years, the waste-to-energy project has gained attention due to its double benefits of solving environmental pollution due to waste disposal and extracting energy from waste.

“On an average, every day about 3,000 tonnes of solid waste is being generated in Bangalore. About half is biodegradable waste, which is a potential source of energy and also nitrogen rich manure. It has been estimated that more than 30MW of energy could be produced from the biodegradable waste being generated in the city,” says Ramakumar.

“The total bio-energy potential in the country is estimated to be 16,000 MWe and the current installation is only about 1,252 Mw considering all forms of biomass conversion process of which the leading contribution is from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Chattisgarh. The share of gasification and methanation process in terms of installation is 248 MWe.”

There is a huge opportunity in this stream since a vast potential of resources are lying unused in the country. With the State utilities obligated to meet the renewable purchase obligation varying from 3-10 percent of the power generated, bio-energy could be a pragmatic solution for an agrarian economy like ours.

“The key driver for growth would be an initiative by the utilities to map local resources and streamline logistics to ensure efficient and continuous long-term supply. This, along with social awareness programmes in partnership with technology providers across the country, would lead to a bio-energy revolution”, says Ramakumar.

With new and improved technologies for biomass-based energy and thermal generation which are cost-effective and keep a check on the pollution issues, this sector needs to be addressed with the right framework plan and a collaborative approach.

Pics of some of the rarest flowers

Types of Lava

Lava is the molten rock thrown out by a volcano. The most common forms of lava are basalt, which is thin and runny, and cools to a heavy , black rock, and rhyolite, a thick, pale, biscuit-coloured lava. How a volcano erupts depends on the thickness of the lava.

Also Visit Darwin site.

Environmental Organisations

These environmental organisations are dedicated to helping plants and animals in danger and finding solutions to worldwide ecological problems.

http://www.wwf.org/


http://www.foei.org/


http://www.ifaw.org/ifaw/general/default.aspx


http://www.greenpeace.org/international/

Wildlife in danger

Since life began on earth, many species of plants and animals have died out- mostly because of human interference. The main threats to wildlife today are habitat destruction, hunting and collecting, and pollution.Many plants and animals are now protected by law.It is estimated that over the next 20 years almost half a million species of plants and animals will become extinct.

Earth Sciences

The different branches of the Earth sciences cover all of the earth's dynamic systems, apart from life forms, which are studied within biology. Knowledge about earth's history and formation also inform us about its needs, which will help ensure the future survival of the planet. The various branches are

1.Palaeontology The study of fossils
2.Geomorphology The study of Land forms
3.Oceanography The study of oceans
4.Geography The study of Earth's surface
5.Geology The study of earth's history, structure and make up.
6.Valcanology The study of volcanoes.
7.Meteorology The study of weather.

Subscribe to get my updates!!!

Please Enter your E-mail address and subscribe to get my latest updates.

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Climate

Weather can change from moment to moment. Over a long period of time, a region's characteristic weather- however changeable- is called its climate.Climates are generally warmer near the Equator, the imaginary line around the middle of the earth, and cool towards the poles. The climate determines the region's animal and plant's life.