Context: India has emerged as the second largest importer of ethane from the US, following China. This surge in import is attributed to various factors such as increasing demand for petrochemicals, competitive prices of ethane in the US, and expanded tanker capacity.
About Ethane:
Ethane is a naturally occurring organic compound with chemical formula C2H6. It is a saturated hydrocarbon containing a single carbon-carbon bond.
It is the second simplest hydrocarbon after methane (CH4).
Like many hydrocarbons, ethane is isolated on an industrial scale from natural gas and as a petrochemical by-product of petroleum refining. Its chief use is as feedstock for ethylene production.
Utilization of Ethane: Ethane finds application in the production of plastics, anti-freeze, and detergents.
US Ethane Export Trends:
The US has been exporting ethane since 2014, with exports reaching a record average of 471,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2023, marking a significant increase from previous years.
This export surge is primarily driven by global demand growth in the petrochemical sector and enhanced tanker capacity.
Indian Import Scenario:
India's import of ethane from the US witnessed fluctuations due to market dynamics.
Despite a dip during the COVID-19 pandemic, imports remained substantial, reaching 74,000 bpd in the previous year.
Petrochemical Industry Expansion:
Indian oil and gas companies are expanding their petrochemicals business to diversify revenue streams.
This expansion is propelled by rising domestic demand from industrial, construction, and manufacturing sectors.
Collaborative Efforts: Recent agreements between GAIL (India), ONGC, and Shell Energy India highlight the growing interest in importing ethane and developing necessary infrastructure in India.
Increasing Usage:
Ethane serves as a crucial feedstock in the petrochemical industry, particularly in the production of ethylene for plastics and resins.
Its high ethylene yield, low cost, and minimal co-products make it increasingly preferred over naphtha, especially in regions like Asia and Europe.
The rise in ethane imports underscores its significance as a preferred petrochemical precursor in India. With collaborative efforts and expanding usage, ethane is poised to play a pivotal role in the country's petrochemical industry growth.
Context: A leakage of ammonia gas from a subsea pipeline connected to a fertiliser manufacturing unit in Chennai resulted in locals experiencing medical conditions such as shortness of breath and burning eyes.
About Ammonia:
Ammonia is a colourless gas with a strong, pungent odour. Naturally occurring sources like soils and vegetation fires release ammonia, but significant contributors to its emission include agricultural practices such as livestock farming and fertiliser use.
Nitrogen is a macronutrient required by plants in large quantities for protein synthesis, chlorophyll production, and overall growth.
As agriculture expands to accommodate increasing populations, it is probable that ammonia emissions will also increase.
Ammonia Synthesis:
The Haber-Bosch process is the primary method for industrial-scale ammonia synthesis.
It combines hydrogen and nitrogen gases at high temperature and pressure in the presence of a catalyst. This process results in the formation of ammonia gas.
Use of Ammonia:
Ammonia is a primary feedstock for producing nitrogen-based fertilisers, which are essential for plant growth.
Fertiliser Production:
Ammonium Nitrate: Obtained by reacting ammonia with nitric acid.
Urea: Produced by reacting ammonia with carbon dioxide under high pressure and temperature.
Ammonium Phosphate: Formed by reacting ammonia with phosphoric acid.
Ammonium Sulphate: Resulting from the reaction of ammonia with sulfuric acid.
Global Warming Potential (GWP):
GWP is a measure of how much energy the emissions of 1 ton of a gas will absorb over a given period, relative to the emissions of 1 ton of carbon dioxide (CO2).
The larger the GWP, the more that a given gas warms the Earth compared to CO2 over that time-period.
The time-period usually used for GWPs is 100 years.
GWPs enable analysts to aggregate emissions estimates from various gases and help policymakers assess and compare emission reduction opportunities across sectors and gases.
Production of Ammonia- A Climate Concern:
The process uses natural gas, which leads to 2.6 metric tons of life cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per metric ton of ammonia produced.
With ammonia being the second most produced chemical in the world, its production accounts for approximately 2% of worldwide fossil energy use and generates over 420 million tons of CO2 annually.
Consequences related to Ammonia Pollution:
Impact on human health:
After reacting with other particles, ammonia emissions can lead to the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), posing serious health risks such as heart and lung diseases.
Exposure to high levels of ammonia can cause respiratory problems, such as asthma, bronchitis, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Direct exposure to Ammonia can also irritate the eyes, skin, and throat, leading to discomfort and potential health issues.
Impact on Ecosystem and Biodiversity:
Ammonia deposition can cause soil acidification, which can harm plant growth and reduce soil biodiversity leading to reduced crop yield.
Excess ammonia in water bodies can lead to eutrophication, a process that results in algal blooms and oxygen depletion, disrupting aquatic ecosystems.
Impact on the Climate:
Ammonia emissions contribute to climate change by releasing nitrous oxide (N2O) after oxidation, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 298 times that of carbon dioxide (CO2).
N2O is involved in the depletion of stratospheric ozone, which protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Ammonia emissions also contribute to the formation of aerosols, which can impact cloud properties and potentially influence climate patterns.
Economic Impacts of Ammonia Pollution: These costs include healthcare expenses, reduced agricultural productivity, and the implementation of pollution control measures.
Way Forward
The application of anhydrous ammonia (pure ammonia in liquid form), injected into the soil, quickly converts to ammonium ions. This process makes nitrogen available to plants, providing an efficient way to deliver nitrogen to crops.
Sustainable production of ammonia by developing more sustainable methods for ammonia synthesis, such as using renewable energy sources and carbon capture technologies, to minimise environmental impacts.
The regulation of ammonia production and use to minimise environmental impacts, such as nutrient runoff and water pollution.
Farmers should be encouraged to follow best management practices to optimise fertiliser application, reduce nutrient losses, and protect water quality.
Proper storage and handling of ammonia-based fertilisers should be followed to prevent accidents and environmental hazards.
Chemical Disaster and their Management
Potential Causes of Chemical Disaster:
Process and Safety Systems Failures: This includes equipment failures, leaks, or other breakdowns in the systems designed to contain and control hazardous substances.
Human Errors: These errors may range from simple miscalculations to misinterpretation of procedures, leading to unintended and potentially dangerous outcomes.
Technical Errors: These may arise from defects, malfunctions, or shortcomings in the design or implementation of these technologies.
Management Errors: This includes issues related to organisational culture, resource allocation, and overall safety management practices.
Induced Effects of Natural Calamities: Natural disasters, such as earthquakes, floods, or cyclones, can exacerbate the risks associated with chemical facilities, leading to the release of hazardous substances, and amplifying the impact of the natural calamity.
Accidents During Transportation: During the shipping or transit of chemicals, whether by road, rail, air, or sea, accidents can result in spills, leaks, or explosions, with potential far-reaching consequences.
Hazardous Waste Processing/Disposal: Inadequate waste management practices can result in the release of toxic substances into the air, soil, or water.
Terrorist Attack/Unrest Leading to Sabotage: Intentional attacks may aim to compromise safety measures, damage infrastructure, or release toxic substances, posing risks to both human life and the environment.
Management of Chemical Disaster in India:
Our country possesses an extensive legal and institutional framework. Various regulations addressing transportation safety, liability, insurance, and compensation have been put in place. The following are the provisions related to chemical disaster management currently in force:
Explosives Act, 1884: Governs the regulation of explosives to ensure safety.
Petroleum Act, 1934: Regulates the import, transport, storage, production, and use of petroleum.
Factories Act, 1948: Focuses on the safety, health, and welfare of workers in factories.
Insecticides Act, 1968: Regulates the sale, distribution, and use of insecticides.
Environment Protection Act, 1986: Aims to protect and improve the environment.
Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991: Deals with the public liability for damages arising from accidents in handling hazardous substances.
Disaster Management Act, 2005: Provides a comprehensive framework for disaster management.
To further strengthen chemical safety and manage chemical accidents, the Government of India has enacted additional rules and amendments like Rules addressing the management of hazardous waste etc.
Role of NDMA in Chemical Disaster Management:
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of India plays a crucial role in Chemical Disaster Management.
The authority has formulated specific guidelines to direct ministries, departments, and state authorities in developing detailed disaster management plans.
These guidelines advocate a proactive, participatory, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sectoral approach at various levels to enhance chemical disaster preparedness and response.
Context: UK ad regulator banned advertisement from Air France, Lufthansa, and Etihad for alleged misleading consumers regarding the environmental impact of air travel.
Greenwashing
Greenwashing is when firms or governments give a false impression that their products or activities are climate-friendly or help in reducing emissions.
It may also occur when a company highlights sustainable aspects of a product to overshadow its environmentally damaging activities.
Greenwashing can involve environmental imagery, misleading labels, or hiding all the facts.
Cases
In KLM’s case, the company ran an advertising campaign telling its customer to “FLY RESPONSIBLY”.
Environmentalists sued KLM for false advertisement, arguing there is no environmentally friendly way to fly.
The infamous 2015 Volkswagen scandal, in which the German car company was found to have been cheating in emissions testing of its supposedly green diesel vehicles. This was a case of greenwashing.
Aviation industry
Currently, the aviation industry is responsible for approximately 2.5% of all human-produced CO2 emissions, according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) 2022 estimates.
The IPPC has said that aviation’s contribution could increase to 5% of the total contribution by 2050 if measures are not taken to address these emissions. The highest predicted value is 15%.
According to the UN Climate Change, if non-CO2 emissions, like water vapor, are also accounted for, the airline industry would be responsible for causing almost 5% of historical global warming.
Emissions from domestic flights are attributed to a country’s emission accounts. However, emissions from international flights are not attributable to any country.
They are instead counted as ‘bunker fuels and no country has any responsibility to curtail these emissions.
Context: Many ecologists are incensed that an inordinate number of species have been included in the new schedules of the Wildlife Protection (Amendment) Act, 2022, without an objective or replicable process. In brief, Schedule 1, which confers the highest protection, contains about 600 species of vertebrates and hundreds of invertebrates, while Schedule 2 contains about 2,000 species (with 1,134 species of birds alone).
Wildlife protection amendment Act 2022 – The amendment is primarily aimed at revising four aspects of the law: allowing delegation of functions of the State Boards for Wildlife (SBWLs) to a select set of people (“standing committee”) as is currently the case with the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL); a rework of the schedules that list species according to the levels of protection they need in view of the threats they face; providing for the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES); and an exception to the requirement to obtain permission from the Chief Wildlife Warden for the transfer and transport of captive elephants for religious or other purposes.
Positive Key features:
Holistic approach and widened scope - In the long title of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, for the words "protection of wild animals, birds and plants", the words "conservation, protection and management of wild life" is substituted which points towards the change of focus towards the holistic approach.
Addition of new schedule: a new schedule has been addedfor specimens listed in the Appendices under CITES (scheduled specimens).
Invasive alien species - It empowers the central government to regulate or prohibit the import, trade, possession or proliferation of invasive alien species. The central government may authorise an officer to seize and dispose the invasive species.
Management Authority : it will be appointed by the central government for the issuance of permits and certificates for trade in scheduled specimens in accordance with the CITES. Until now, CITES provisions were enforced through the Customs Act and not the Wildlife (Protection) Act, which was a major lacunae.
Decentralized management: For sanctuaries falling under special areas, the management plan must be prepared after due consultation with the concerned Gram Sabha.
Declaring conservation reserves by Centre: It empowers both Central and State governments to declare areas adjacent to national parks and sanctuaries as conservation reserve, Earlier only the state government had this power.
Surrender of captive animals: Any person having a certificate of ownership can voluntarily surrender any captive animals or animal products to the Chief Wildlife Warden.
Issues remaining
Reduction of schedules has led to huge number of species falling in the same list which creates confusion as it is unclear where resources should be allocated on the basis of this list. The same level of protection is offered to tigers and jackals, to the great Indian bustard and common barn owls, to the king cobra and rat snakes.
Unscientific classification for e.g. the presence of the spotted deer (chital) in Schedule 1. Common throughout India, these are invasive in the Andaman Islands and have caused untold harm to the vegetation and herpetofauna. But they cannot be legally culled or removed because of the WLPA.
Commercial trade: It leaves the door open for commercial trade in elephants. There is concern that the amendments have not defined what purposes elephants can be used for and have perhaps made it easier for the animals to be transported across the country.
Dilution of federal framework: It has also been criticized for diluting the federal framework by seeking to displace the State Boards of Wildlife, which are chaired by the Chief Minister, with a Standing Committee headed by the union Forest minister.
Using animals for religious purpose: In Section 43, elephants, Schedule I animal, are permitted to be used for ‘religious or any other purpose’. Experts have also criticized the term ‘other purpose’
Lack of ownership: There are 2,675 captive elephants in India and only 1,251 have ownership certificates. Experts believe that this unclear ownership was an issue and the provisions that are “weak and indeterminate which can cause problems.
Hampering research: Experts believe that listing so many species in schedule 1 will impact research as paperwork involved in getting permits for research is tedious and time consuming.
Context: Animals often tend to show some physiological adaptation to survive in challenging environments. This adaptation varies depending on factors like when and why they are occurring and what kind of animals are adopting it.
Physiological adaptations are mainly of three types:
Hibernation
Brumation
Estivation or Aestivation
Further Migration can also be considered as an adaptation technique where species relocate themselves to avoid harsh weather.
Hibernation
Hibernation is a physiological adaptation practised by some animals. It is a state of inactivity and dormancy that enables some animals to survive in cold environments with reduced food availability during the winter months.
Hibernation is mostly done by the endotherms or warm-blooded animals
A variety of animals can hibernate, including bats, bears, rodents, and some species of birds and reptiles.
Brumation
Brumation is known as the hibernation for cold-blooded animals. In a nutshell, brumation is to reptiles what hibernation is to mammals.
Hibernating animals need to eat in order to have enough food storage to last them through their hibernation period as their metabolism while decreased is still active.
Brumating animals stop eating before entering inactivity as their metabolic rate drops so low that they are unable to fully digest their meal until outside temperatures increase.
Estivation or Aestivation
It is a physiological adaptation whereby the animal enters a long period of dormancy or inactivity in response to high temperatures or maybe even drought-like conditions.
Similarities Between Hibernation, Brumation and Aestivation:
Metabolic Slowdown: In all strategies, animals experience a significant reduction in their metabolic rate while in a dormant state.
Reduced Activity: Processes involve a decrease in activity levels, which serves to conserve energy.
Water Conservation Adaptations: Animals have developed specific adaptations to minimize water loss, such as creating protective mucus layers or sealing themselves within cocoons.
Prolonged Dormancy: Processes can endure for extended periods, enabling animals to survive challenging environmental conditions until more favourable circumstances return.
Context - The Wildlife Institute of India and the National Tiger Conservation Authority, who are responsible for the quadrennial ‘tiger census’ reports, recently updated their estimates for the animal’s numbers. Madhya Pradesh, for the second time in eight years, reported 785 tigers, or about a fifth of the national count. The State reported a 50% rise in tigers since the last census.
A Case Study : How Madhya Pradesh over the years has perfected the Tiger conservation approach:
It has focussed on balancing the predator – prey relationship: M.P. has reintroduced species such as barasingha (swamp deer) to new habitats such as Satpuda and Bandhavgarh, and the gaur to the Bandhavgarh and Sanjay-Dubri tiger reserves. Prey species such as chital (spotted deer) have been successfully supplemented in the Satpuda and Sanjay tiger reserves, Nauradehi, Kuno, and Gandhisagar wildlife sanctuaries through translocation from high-density Pench and Bandhavgarh.
These often involve tracking, darting and capturing animals, keeping them in temporary enclosures until they reach sufficient numbers and then releasing them into their new habitat.
Key facts:
The number of tigers in India has increased from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,682 in 2022, an annual rise of 6 per cent.
India has become home to approximately 75 per cent of the world’s tiger population.
Tiger census is held every four years in the country.
With a 50 per cent increase in the last four years, Madhya Pradesh has the maximum number (785) of tigers in the country, followed by Karnataka (563), Uttarakhand (560), and Maharashtra (444), according to the data.
The number of tigers “within the tiger reserve” is highest in Corbett (260), followed by Bandipur (150), Nagarhole (141), Bandhavgarh (135), Dudhwa (135), Mudumalai(114), Kanha (105), Kaziranga (104), Sundarbans (100), Tadoba (97), Sathyamangalam (85), and Pench-MP (77).
Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand have recorded a dip in the number of majestic cats in the last few years.
The Western Ghats witnessed a decrease in tiger occupancy, except for a few areas like Kali (Anshi Dandeli), where the number of unique tigers remains stable. The report pointed to “increasing human footprint and development” as the primary reasons behind the declining tiger population in the Western Ghats
