Tag: geography

Source reduction is also known as waste prevention or pollution prevention.It is the elimination of waste before it is created. Recycling is the last process which is done after waste is created and need to be managed.

The ecological balance of any system gets affected due to the widespread contamination of the soil. Most plants are unable to adapt when the chemistry of the soil changes so radically in a short period of time. Fungi and bacteria found in the soil that bind it together begin to decline, which creates an additional problem of soil erosion.

Crops and plants grown on polluted soil absorb much of the pollution and then pass these on to us. This could explain the sudden surge in small and terminal illnesses.

Long term exposure to such soil can affect the genetic make-up of the body, causing congenital illnesses and chronic health problems that cannot be cured easily. In fact, it can sicken the livestock to a considerable extent and cause food poisoning over a long period of time. The soil pollution can even lead to widespread famines if the plants are unable to grow in it.

Radioactive pollution of the environment is defined as the increase in natural background radiation, emerging from the activities of man involving the use of naturally occurring or artificially produced radioactive materials. The atmosphere screens out much of the sun’s radiation, including most of that which would be lethal to life.

Radioactive pollution of the environment is on increase in natural background radiation, emerging from the activities of man involving the use of naturally occurring or artificially produced radioactive materials the chemicals of radioactive materials spreading into the air have increased extensively as a result of the discovery of artificially radioactivity & particularly due to the development of atomic bombs and the techniques of harnessing nuclear energy. Radiation can be categorized into two main groups.

i) Non-ionizing (e.g ultra-violet rays)

ii) Ionizing (eg. X-rays, Alpha, Proteins & neutrons) 

Soil or land pollution can be defined as the changes in physical, chemical and biological conditions of the soil through man’s intervention/misuse of land and hence resulting in degradation in quantity and productivity of the soil. Causes of soil pollution are as follows:

• Accidental spills and leaks.
• Agricultural activities.
• Transportation activities.
• Chemical waste dumping.

The Ladakh desert is mainly inhabited by Buddhists and Muslims.

Hemis Monastery is a Himalayan Buddhist monastery (gompa) of the Drukpa Lineage, in Hemis, Ladakh, India. Situated 45 km from Leh, the monastery was re-established in 1672 by the Ladakhi king Sengge Namgyal. The annual Hemis festival honoring Padmasambhava is held in early June.

The first village after Zoji La pass, Dras is situated at a height of 10,990 feet above sea level. In the freezing winter, temperatures in Dras can drop to as low as -45 degrees Celsius. The lowest temperature drop observed in Dras was during the winter of 1995, when the thermal reading fell to -60 degrees Celsius