151: Tamil Nadu is a leading producer of mill made cotton yam in the country. What could be the reason ?
1. Black cotton soil is the predominant type of soil in the State.
2. Rich pool of skilled labour is available.
Which of the above is/are the correct reasons ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
Red soil is the predominant type of soil in the State. Rich pool of skilled labour is the main reason for high production of mill-make cotton yarn.
152: Assertion (A) :
Floods are a recurring feature in the Indo-Gangetic Plain
Reason (R) :
The Indo-Gangetic Plain is built of porous and soft alluvium
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not a correct explanation of A
(c) A is true but R is false
(d) A is false but R is true
153: A new type of El Nino called El Nino Modoki appeared in the news. In this context, consider the following statements:
1. Normal El Nino forms in the Central Pacific ocean whereas El-Nino Modoki forms in Eastern Pacific ocean.
2. Normal EI Nino results in diminished hurricanes in the Atlantic ocean but El Nino Modoki results in a greater number of hurricanes with greater frequency.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
The traditional Nino, also called Eastern Pacific (EP) El Nino, involves temperature anomalies in the Eastern Pacific. However, in the last two decades non-traditional El Ninos were abserved, in which the usual place of the temperature anomaly is not phenomenon is called Central Pacific (CP) El nono, "dateline" El Nino (because the anomaly arises near the dateline), or El Nino "Modoki" (Modoki is Japanese for "similar, but different ") The effects of the CP El Nino are different from those of the traditional EP El Nino - e.g., the new El Nino, leads to more hurricanes more frequently making landfall in the Atlantic.
The recent discovery of El Nino Modoki has some scientists believing it to be linked to Global Warming. However, Satellite data only goes back to 1979. More research must be done to find the correlation and study past El Nino episodes.
154: Consider the following statements regarding environment issues of India:
I. Gulf of Mannar is one of the biosphere reserves.
II. The Ganga Action Plan, phase II has been merged with the National River Conservation Plan.
III. The National Museum of Natural History at New Delhi imparts non-formal education in environment and conservation.
IV. Environmental Information System (ENVIS) acts as a decentralised information network for environmental information.
Which of these statements are correct ?
(a) I, II and IV
(b) I, II, III and IV
(c) II and III
(d) I, III and IV
155: Consider the following statements :
1. On the planet Earth, the fresh water available for use amounts to about less than 1% of the total water found.
2. Of the total fresh water found on the planet Earth 95% is bound up in polar ice caps and glaciers.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
Over 70% of our Earth's surface is covered by water (we should really call our planet "Ocean" instead of "Earth"). Although water is seemingly aboundant, the real issue is the amount of fresh water available.
- 97.5% of all water on Earth is salt water, leaving only 2.5% as fresh water
- Nearly 70% of that fresh water is frozen in the icecaps of Antarctica and Greenland; most of the remainder is present as soil moisture, or lies in deep underground aquifers as groundwater not accessible to human use.
- < 1% of the world's fresh water (0.007% of all water on earth) is accessible for direct human uses. This is the water found in lakes, rivers, reservoirs and those underground sources that are shallow enough to be tapped at an affordable cost. Only this amount is regularly renewed by rain and snowfall, and is therefore available on a sustainable basis.