Thursday, August 13, 2015
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Tuesday, August 11, 2015
opportunity cost
In microeconomic theory, the opportunity cost of a choice is the value of the best alternative forgone, where a choice needs to be made between several mutually exclusive alternatives given limited resources. Assuming the best choice is made, it is the "cost" incurred by not enjoying the benefit that would be had by taking the second best choice available.[1] The New Oxford American Dictionary defines it as "the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen". Opportunity cost is a key concept in economics, and has been described as expressing "the basic relationship between scarcity and choice".[2] The notion of opportunity cost plays a crucial part in ensuring that scarce resources are used efficiently.[3] Thus, opportunity costs are not restricted to monetary or financial costs: the real cost of output forgone, lost time, pleasure or any other benefit that provides utilityshould also be considered opportunity costs.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opportunity_cost
Pro-tem speaker
Pro-tem speaker is mainly an operating and temporary speaker. To conduct the works in the centre or in state legislatives, pro-tem speaker is appointed for a limited time period. Generally in such a condition when the Lok Sabha and Legislative Assemblies have been elected, but the vote for the speaker and deputy speaker has not taken place, the pro-tem speaker is chosen. Pro-tem speaker is chosen with the agreement of the members of the Lok Sabha and legislative assembly, so that he can carry on the activities till the permanent speaker is not chosen.
In many a situations, both the speaker and the deputy speaker posts in the House may lie vacant, (death, resignation etc.) then the tasks in the House are undertaken under the pro-tem speaker. The powers regarding the pro-tem speaker are not clarified. But this much is clear that pro-tem speaker does not have as much power as the permanent speaker has. Pro-tem speaker's duty is to conduct the works in the House properly keeping certain aims before for a limited period of time till the permanent speaker is chosen.
In many a situations, both the speaker and the deputy speaker posts in the House may lie vacant, (death, resignation etc.) then the tasks in the House are undertaken under the pro-tem speaker. The powers regarding the pro-tem speaker are not clarified. But this much is clear that pro-tem speaker does not have as much power as the permanent speaker has. Pro-tem speaker's duty is to conduct the works in the House properly keeping certain aims before for a limited period of time till the permanent speaker is chosen.
Friday, August 7, 2015
37% of Western Ghats ecologically sensitive: Kasturirangan panel report| Kasturirangan recommendation
Around 60,000 sq km of Western Ghats, spread across six states, should be turned into a no-go area for commercial activities like mining, thermal power plants, polluting industries and large housing plans, the high-level working group headed by Planning Commission member K Kasturirangan has recommended.
The Kasturirangan panel was set up to study the Gadgil committee report on the Western Ghats. The Gadgil panel report had faced unanimous opposition from state governments for recommending that almost three-fourth of the hills, including plantations, cultivated lands and large habitations, be turned into a restricted development zone with an over-arching authority to regulate the region superseding the elected authorities' role.
The Kasturirangan committee has in contrast advised against bringing cultivated lands, plantations and habitations outside the ambit of such a restrictive regime - called Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) under the Environment Protection Act, 1976. Instead, it has suggested that 90% of the natural forests left in the Western Ghats complex - adding upto 60,000 sq km and constituting 37% of the entire hilly belt — be conserved under the ESA provisions of the green law. The forest area falling within the ESA would also cover 4,156 villages across the six states. The panel has said, "The villages falling under ESA will be involved in decision making on the future projects. All projects will require prior-informed consent and no-objection from the gram sabha (village council) of the village."
The panel has recommended that there should be a complete ban on mining activity in this zone and current mining activities should be phased out within five years, or at the time of expiry of the mining lease. It has banned development of any township or construction over the size of 20,000 sq m in the ESA zone. It has not recommended a ban on hydroelectric projects in the zone, but put a regime of stricter clearances for dams and other projects. For dams, it has demanded an uninterrupted ecological flow of at least 30% level of the rivers flow till individual baselines for dams are set. Cumulative studies to assess impact of dams on a river and ensuring that the minimum distance between projects is maintained at three km and that not more than 50% of the river basin is affected at any time.
The report suggests doing away with the complete moratorium on industrial and mining activity in the two Maharashtra districts of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. It has suggested persisting with the ban only on the area of the two districts falling within the ESA and a strict regulation in the rest.
The report has steered clear from demanding a strict ecological control over the Western Ghat complex requiring changes and regulations on agricultural practices the way Gadgil committee report had suggested. It has also favoured a new authority to regulate the region's development and economic growth. The authors say, "The high-level working group has deviated from WGEEP (Gadgil committee report) by not recommending a blanket prescriptive on what constitutes good development, which will be implemented through a prohibitory regime. Instead, HLWG has considered and recommended prohibitory and regulatory regime only for those activities with maximum interventionist and destructive impact on the ecosystem."
Sunita Narain, member of the Kasturirangan panel and director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, "We have recommended ESA for natural areas which constitute 37% of the ghats. These areas must be protected. There is great biodiversity value outside these patches too but there we recommend a framework to incentivize people towards green growth and not a prohibitory or penalizing regime."
The panel consisted of Ajay Tyagi, joint secretary in the environment ministry; J M Mauskar, retired senior bureaucrat; academicians C R Babu and Kanchan Chopra; Jagdish Kishwan, retired senior forest officer, P S Roy, deputy director of National Remote Sensing Centre; Darshan Shankar of Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, a Karnataka-based NGO and Indrani Chandrasekharan of Planning Commission besides Kasturirangan and Narain.
The committee has also not recommended an outright rejection of the Athirapally hydroelectric project in Kerala and Gundya dam in Karnataka. It has warned that the state government must assess if the Athirapally dam is viable and if the trade off against the loss of irreplaceable biodiversity is beneficial. On the Gundya hydroelectric project, it has advised extreme caution and said the project should not get a green nod till an elaborate review of the river flows and ecological damage are made.
The Kasturirangan panel was set up to study the Gadgil committee report on the Western Ghats. The Gadgil panel report had faced unanimous opposition from state governments for recommending that almost three-fourth of the hills, including plantations, cultivated lands and large habitations, be turned into a restricted development zone with an over-arching authority to regulate the region superseding the elected authorities' role.
The Kasturirangan committee has in contrast advised against bringing cultivated lands, plantations and habitations outside the ambit of such a restrictive regime - called Ecologically Sensitive Area (ESA) under the Environment Protection Act, 1976. Instead, it has suggested that 90% of the natural forests left in the Western Ghats complex - adding upto 60,000 sq km and constituting 37% of the entire hilly belt — be conserved under the ESA provisions of the green law. The forest area falling within the ESA would also cover 4,156 villages across the six states. The panel has said, "The villages falling under ESA will be involved in decision making on the future projects. All projects will require prior-informed consent and no-objection from the gram sabha (village council) of the village."
The panel has recommended that there should be a complete ban on mining activity in this zone and current mining activities should be phased out within five years, or at the time of expiry of the mining lease. It has banned development of any township or construction over the size of 20,000 sq m in the ESA zone. It has not recommended a ban on hydroelectric projects in the zone, but put a regime of stricter clearances for dams and other projects. For dams, it has demanded an uninterrupted ecological flow of at least 30% level of the rivers flow till individual baselines for dams are set. Cumulative studies to assess impact of dams on a river and ensuring that the minimum distance between projects is maintained at three km and that not more than 50% of the river basin is affected at any time.
The report suggests doing away with the complete moratorium on industrial and mining activity in the two Maharashtra districts of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. It has suggested persisting with the ban only on the area of the two districts falling within the ESA and a strict regulation in the rest.
The report has steered clear from demanding a strict ecological control over the Western Ghat complex requiring changes and regulations on agricultural practices the way Gadgil committee report had suggested. It has also favoured a new authority to regulate the region's development and economic growth. The authors say, "The high-level working group has deviated from WGEEP (Gadgil committee report) by not recommending a blanket prescriptive on what constitutes good development, which will be implemented through a prohibitory regime. Instead, HLWG has considered and recommended prohibitory and regulatory regime only for those activities with maximum interventionist and destructive impact on the ecosystem."
Sunita Narain, member of the Kasturirangan panel and director general of Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), said, "We have recommended ESA for natural areas which constitute 37% of the ghats. These areas must be protected. There is great biodiversity value outside these patches too but there we recommend a framework to incentivize people towards green growth and not a prohibitory or penalizing regime."
The panel consisted of Ajay Tyagi, joint secretary in the environment ministry; J M Mauskar, retired senior bureaucrat; academicians C R Babu and Kanchan Chopra; Jagdish Kishwan, retired senior forest officer, P S Roy, deputy director of National Remote Sensing Centre; Darshan Shankar of Foundation for Revitalization of Local Health Traditions, a Karnataka-based NGO and Indrani Chandrasekharan of Planning Commission besides Kasturirangan and Narain.
The committee has also not recommended an outright rejection of the Athirapally hydroelectric project in Kerala and Gundya dam in Karnataka. It has warned that the state government must assess if the Athirapally dam is viable and if the trade off against the loss of irreplaceable biodiversity is beneficial. On the Gundya hydroelectric project, it has advised extreme caution and said the project should not get a green nod till an elaborate review of the river flows and ecological damage are made.
NJAC | The Constitution (121st Amendment) Bill, 2014
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Thursday, August 6, 2015
Yemen on the brink: What you need to know about the crisis
Airstrikes by Saudi Arabia against Shia rebels in Yemen have added a regional dimension to the conflict in the Arab world’s poorest country.The advance of the Houthis raised Saudi fears that the Shia minority rebels would seize control of the whole of its Sunni-majority neighbour and take it into the orbit of Shia Iran. The airstrikes that followed have transformed Yemen into another arena for the regional struggle between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Here is a detailed look at the crisis in Yemen and the key players.
Wednesday, August 5, 2015
Types of Ecosystems
There are essentially two kinds of ecosystems; Aquatic and Terrestrial. Any other sub-ecosystem falls under one of these two headings.
Terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystems can be found anywhere apart from heavily saturated places. They are broadly classed into:
The Forest Ecosystems
They are the ecosystems in which an abundance of flora, or plants, is seen so they have a big number of organisms which live in relatively small space. Therefore, in forest ecosystems the density of living organisms is quite high. A small change in this ecosystem could affect the whole balance, effectively bringing down the whole ecosystem. You could see a fantastic diversity in the fauna of the ecosystems, too. They are further divided into:
Terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial ecosystems can be found anywhere apart from heavily saturated places. They are broadly classed into:
The Forest Ecosystems
They are the ecosystems in which an abundance of flora, or plants, is seen so they have a big number of organisms which live in relatively small space. Therefore, in forest ecosystems the density of living organisms is quite high. A small change in this ecosystem could affect the whole balance, effectively bringing down the whole ecosystem. You could see a fantastic diversity in the fauna of the ecosystems, too. They are further divided into:
- Tropical evergreen forest: These are tropical forests that receive a mean rainfall of 80 for every 400 inches annually. The forests are characterised by dense vegetation which comprises tall trees at different heights. Each level is shelter to different types of animals.
- Tropical deciduous forest: There, shrubs and dense bushes rule along with a broad selection of trees. The type of forest is found in quite a few parts of the world while a large variety of fauna and flora are found there.
- Temperate evergreen forest: Those have quite a few number of trees as mosses and ferns make up for them. Trees have developed spiked leaves in order to minimize transpiration.
- Temperate deciduous forest: The forest is located in the moist temperate places that have sufficient rainfall. Summers and winters are clearly defined and the trees shed the leaves during the winter months.
- Taiga: Situated just before the arctic regions, the taiga is defined by evergreen conifers. As the temperature is below zero for almost half a year, the remainder of the months, it buzzes with migratory birds and insects.
The Desert Ecosystem
Desert ecosystems are located in regions that receive an annual rainfall less than 25. They occupy about 17 percent of all the land on our planet. Due to the extremely high temperature, low water availability and intense sunlight, fauna and flora are scarce and poorly developed. The vegetation is mainly shrubs, bushes, few grasses and rare trees. The stems and leaves of the plants are modified in order to conserve water as much as possible. The best known desert ones are the succulents such as the spiny leaved cacti. The animal organisms include insects, birds, camels, reptiles all of which are adapted to the desert (xeric) conditions.
The Grassland Ecosystem
Grasslands are located in both the tropical and temperate regions of the world though the ecosystems vary slightly. The area mainly comprises grasses with a little number of trees and shrubs. The main vegetation includes grasses, plants and legumes that belong to the composite family. A lot of grazing animals, insectivores and herbivores inhabit the grasslands. The two main kinds of grasslands ecosystems are:
Desert ecosystems are located in regions that receive an annual rainfall less than 25. They occupy about 17 percent of all the land on our planet. Due to the extremely high temperature, low water availability and intense sunlight, fauna and flora are scarce and poorly developed. The vegetation is mainly shrubs, bushes, few grasses and rare trees. The stems and leaves of the plants are modified in order to conserve water as much as possible. The best known desert ones are the succulents such as the spiny leaved cacti. The animal organisms include insects, birds, camels, reptiles all of which are adapted to the desert (xeric) conditions.
The Grassland Ecosystem
Grasslands are located in both the tropical and temperate regions of the world though the ecosystems vary slightly. The area mainly comprises grasses with a little number of trees and shrubs. The main vegetation includes grasses, plants and legumes that belong to the composite family. A lot of grazing animals, insectivores and herbivores inhabit the grasslands. The two main kinds of grasslands ecosystems are:
- Savanna: The tropical grasslands are dry seasonally and have few individual trees. They support a large number of predators and grazers.
- Prairies: It is temperate grassland, completely devoid of large shrubs and trees. Prairies could be categorized as mixed grass, tall grass and short grass prairies.
The Mountain Ecosystem
Mountain land provides a scattered and diverse array of habitats where a large number of animals and plants can be found. At the higher altitudes, the harsh environmental conditions normally prevail, and only the treeless alpine vegetation can survive. The animals that live there have thick fur coats for prevention from cold and hibernation in the winter months. Lower slopes are commonly covered with coniferous forests.
Aquatic Ecosystems
The aquatic ecosystem is the ecosystem found in a body of water. It encompasses aquatic flora, fauna and water properties, as well. There are two main types of aquatic ecosystem - Marine and Freshwater.
The Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are the biggest ecosystems, which cover around 71% of Earth's surface and contain 97% of out planet's water. Water in Marine ecosystems features in high amounts minerals and salts dissolved in them. The different divisions of the marine ecosystem are:
Mountain land provides a scattered and diverse array of habitats where a large number of animals and plants can be found. At the higher altitudes, the harsh environmental conditions normally prevail, and only the treeless alpine vegetation can survive. The animals that live there have thick fur coats for prevention from cold and hibernation in the winter months. Lower slopes are commonly covered with coniferous forests.
Aquatic Ecosystems
The aquatic ecosystem is the ecosystem found in a body of water. It encompasses aquatic flora, fauna and water properties, as well. There are two main types of aquatic ecosystem - Marine and Freshwater.
The Marine Ecosystem
Marine ecosystems are the biggest ecosystems, which cover around 71% of Earth's surface and contain 97% of out planet's water. Water in Marine ecosystems features in high amounts minerals and salts dissolved in them. The different divisions of the marine ecosystem are:
- Oceanic: A relatively shallow part of oceans which lies on the continental shelf.
- Profundal: deep or Bottom water.
- Benthic Bottom substrates.
- Inter-tidal: The place between low and high tides.
- Estuaries
- Coral reefs
- Salt marshes
- Hydrothermal vents where chemosynthetic bacteria make up the food base.
Many kinds of organisms live in marine ecosystems: the brown algae, corals, cephalopods, echinoderms, dinoflagellates and sharks.
The Freshwater Ecosystem
Contrary to the Marine ecosystems, the freshwater ecosystem covers only 0.8% of Earth's surface and contains 0.009% of the total water. Three basic kinds of freshwater ecosystems exist:
The Freshwater Ecosystem
Contrary to the Marine ecosystems, the freshwater ecosystem covers only 0.8% of Earth's surface and contains 0.009% of the total water. Three basic kinds of freshwater ecosystems exist:
- Lentic: Slow-moving or till water like pools, lakes or ponds.
- Lotic: Fast-moving water such as streams and rivers.
- Wetlands: Places in which the soil is inundated or saturated for some lenghty period of time.
The ecosystems are habitats to reptiles, amphibians and around 41% of the world’s fish species. The faster moving turbulent waters typically contain a greater concentrations of dissolved oxygen, supporting greater biodiversity than slow moving waters in pools.
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