Shankar IAS Test: Environmental Pollution - 2 - UPSC MCQ

The Environment Protection Act Amendment 2022 replaced imprisonment with fines. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 extended to rural areas. The Amendment Rules, 2021 increased the thickness of plastic carry bags.

Thermal pollution does primarily occur from industrial activities, but it significantly impacts aquatic life by altering oxygen levels and ecosystem composition.

Increasing the brightness of outdoor lighting exacerbates light pollution, not controls it.

The Act empowers the government for environmental protection, including the collection of evidence for offenses.

Industrial facilities, particularly power plants, contribute significantly to thermal pollution by using water as a cooling agent.

Cold water thermal pollution affects aquatic life, including fish and macroinvertebrates, and impacts river productivity.

The 2016 rules introduced EPR, making producers responsible for managing end-of-life plastic products.

The Environment (Protection) Act was enacted in 1986, followed by the increase in plastic bags' thickness, and then the prohibition of certain single-use plastics.

Plastic pollution does not lead to increased primary production; it causes harm to various marine species.

While the 2022 amendment did replace imprisonment with fines for some violations, severe violations involving grievous injury or loss of life are still subject to harsher penalties.

The Environmental Protection Fund is replenished with the funds collected as penalties for environmental violations.

Thermal pollution primarily impacts aquatic life such as fish and macroinvertebrates. Light pollution disrupts circadian rhythms. Plastic pollution adversely affects marine biodiversity.

One of the key features of these rules is to encourage the use of plastic waste in road construction and energy recovery.

The Act empowers the Central Government with such authority, and its provisions have supremacy over inconsistent laws, excluding the Act itself.

Warm water from thermal pollution leads to lower oxygen levels and may cause the proliferation of blue-green algae.

Skyglow is the brightening of the night sky over inhabited areas, primarily due to artificial lighting.

The 2021 amendment specified the increase in the thickness of plastic carry bags.

The adjudication officer is appointed to assess and impose penalties in cases of environmental violations.

Maintaining vegetation can help mitigate thermal pollution, using light only when necessary addresses light pollution, and increasing the thickness of carry bags is a measure against plastic pollution.

The Act does grant immunity to government officers for their actions under it, but it bars civil courts from entertaining suits regarding actions taken by the Central Government or statutory authorities under this Act.