Chinese drills near Taiwan

Context: Large-scale Chinese military drills named “Joint Sword-2024A” are taking place near Taiwan just days after
the swearing-in of Taiwanese President William Lai Ching-te. These drills are seen as military means to send political
signals and China’s “grey zone” tactics.

Taiwan’s response

• Condemnation: Taiwan condemned the drills

as an “irrational provocation” and mobilised
sea, air and ground forces to demonstrate
preparedness.

• Porcupine strategy: This asymmetric warfare

capacity involves using smaller but highly
effective weapons, including unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), like the domestically
developed drone “Albatross II,“ to make an
invasion by a larger force prohibitively costly.

• Natural defences: The Taiwan Strait, with few

deep-water ports on the Taiwan coast lined by
cliffs, discourages invasion, which is further
limited by the monsoon season and Taiwan’s
mountainous terrain.

• Defence capabilities: Taiwan’s government

has increased defence spending by an average of nearly 5% per year and, as a percentage of GDP, increased
from 2% to 2.5%.The Taiwan Relations Act by the US allows for the supply of “defensive” weapons.

Taiwan Strait

• Also known as Formosa Strait, Strait of Fokien or Fujian and the Black Ditch.
• Separates: Taiwan from continental Asia (China). Connects: South China Sea and East China Sea.

History of the Antarctic Treaty

Context: The 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting began on
May 20 in Kochi, Kerala.

Historical Background: How did the Antarctic Treaty come into

existence?

• Antarctica was first spotted by British, American, and

Russian ships in the 1820s.
• The race to reach the South Pole intensified in the early
1900s.
• Captain Robert Scott (UK) and Roald Amundsen (Norway)
competed. Amundsen reached the South Pole first on
December 15, 1911.

Territorial Claims
• By the 1950s, seven countries made formal claims: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway,
and the UK. Some claims overlapped, leading to conflicts.
 • The US, Soviet Union, Belgium, Japan, and South Africa explored but did not claim territory.

Conflict
• Only Australia, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the UK recognized each other’s claims.
• Argentina, Chile, and the UK had conflicting claims. Between 1947 and 1955, Argentina and Chile rejected
the UK’s proposal to resolve claims at the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Resolution Attempts
• Several attempts were made to create an international agreement on Antarctica. For instance, in 1956, India
requested the United Nations to include ‘the question of Antarctica’ on the agenda.
• However, the proposal failed due to opposition from Argentina and Chile and no support from the US and
Soviet Union.

India’s goals were:

• Ensure peaceful development of Antarctica’s resources.
• Demilitarise the area.
• Ban nuclear weapons testing.
• Refer future disputes to the International Court.

Major Breakthrough
• During the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year (IGY), 12 countries agreed to cooperate in scientific
research in Antarctica.
• These countries were Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, the UK, the US, the Soviet
Union, Belgium, Japan, and South Africa.
• They allowed scientific stations to be placed anywhere on the continent.

Treaty Formation
• The success of IGY led to momentum for an international agreement. On May 2, 1958, the US proposed a
treaty to preserve Antarctica for scientific research and peaceful purposes.
• The Antarctic Treaty was signed by all 12 IGY participants and came into force in 1961.

Current Status
• 56 countries are now part of the treaty.
• 29 countries, including the 12 original signatories, are Consultative Parties.
• India joined the treaty in 1983 and is a Consultative Party.

Reasons Behind the Treaty’s Success

• The treaty strikes a balance between specificity and vagueness.
• It promotes compromise rather than conflict.
• It gives a sense of exclusivity to consultative parties but invites all nations to join.
• The treaty has evolved to address new challenges over time. For example, issues such as marine
conservation, prohibition of mining, and environmental protection.

Challenges Ahead
• Climate change has caused record-high temperatures, and ice coverage has hit its lowest levels.
• Increase in tourism-related activities.

Microbial methane oxidation system for landfills

News: A recent study introduces an innovative and sustainable approach utilizing a microbial methane oxidation
system, commonly referred to as a bio cover, to manage fugitive methane emissions from an old dumpsite in Estonia.
This case study highlights the potential of employing fine fractions derived from landfill mining as bio covers,
offering a sustainable solution for methane control.
Methane emissions from landfills

India has more than 3,000 legacy dumpsites that continuously generate methane.
In 2016, methane emissions from India’s waste sector accounted for 14% of the nation’s total emissions.
Methane, which is highly flammable, is the primary cause of landfill fires.
Current methods for methane reduction in the waste sector: Source segregation, organic waste diversion, scientific
treatment of MSW fractions, construction of sanitary landfills & dumpsite remediation.

What is Biocover?
• Biocovers are porous material layers typically spread over an entire landfill area.
• They are often waste materials, such as diverse composts, mechanically biologically treated waste,
dewatered sewage sludge, or yard waste.
• It is an effective method to minimise methane (CH4) emissions from landfills through natural processing of
microbial oxidation of CH4.

The method
• It consists of two layers: the gas dispersion layer and the CH4 oxidation layer, where actual oxidation takes
place.
• The microbial CH4 oxidation process is carried out by a group of methanotrophic bacteria present in the soil
biocover.
• The CH4 oxidation layer stops a fraction of CH4 produced in landfill sites from being released into the outer
atmosphere.
• Both CH4 and oxygen are required for reducing CH4 emissions using the microbial CH4 oxidation process in
landfill biocover.
• The biocover layer on landfills functions as a CH4 oxidation enhancer, converting CH4 into CO2, water, and
biomass.

Factors affecting CH4 oxidation process

• Soil texture: Soil texture determines the porosity of the biocover layer, which influences CH4 diffusion from
the gravel layer to the CH4 oxidation layer.
• Organic content: CH4 oxidation rate increases with the increase in the organic content of biocover.
• Moisture content: Excessive moisture in the soil cover negatively affects microbial CH4 oxidation by reducing
the oxygen penetration level and biological activity.
• Temperature: Temperature greatly influences biological activity. A study found the optimum range of
temperature varies between 15 degrees to 30 degrees.
 • pH: Variation in the value of pH affects CH4 oxidation process in biocover of the landfill. pH below 5
negatively affects the rate of CH4 oxidation.

Benefits
• Through demand for composted material, it supports organic waste valorisation
• Supports circular economy
• Highly cost-effective
• Potential for climate finance
• Access to other materials when soil is not available for cover

Smart Meters in Gujarat: Controversy and Protests

News: Residents of Vadodara have protested against
pre-paid smart electricity meters & demanded the re-
installation of old meters. Protests spread to Surat,
Rajkot, Jamnagar, Anand, and Godhra.
The installation of prepaid smart meters across Gujarat
is part of the 2021 government notification of the
Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) for the
state’s power sector.

About Smart Meters

• Unlike conventional meters, Smart meters can
“communicate” data. They track energy
consumption every 30 minutes and send
updates to the consumer’s smartphone and the
distribution company.
• Both (Conventional & smart meters) use the same algorithms; therefore, smart meters will not affect one’s
monthly tariff if consumption does not change.
• Alert discoms in emergencies (e.g., overheating, power failure).
• Discoms can disconnect/reconnect remotely and track power quality.
• They are bi-directional, so consumers generating solar power at home do not need a new meter.

People’s Complaints
• Residents claimed overcharging daily since installation.
• Frequent power disruptions were reported when the balance went negative after Rs 300.
• No choice was given during installation. Threatened with a Rs 10,000 penalty for installation delays.
• Problems for non-smartphone users.

Steps taken
• The installation has now been put on hold. Gujarat’s four discoms decided to install check meters (old
meters) alongside smart meters in government offices.
• Consumers will be invited to see the functioning of these meters. This is to dispel misinformation and win
back consumer confidence.

World’s First ‘Electric Cement

News: Scientists from Cambridge University have found a way to recycle cement from demolished buildings.

Cement & Carbon emissions

• Cement is the most common construction material. It binds sand and aggregate in concrete.
• It is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. If cement were a country, it would be the third largest
emitter after China and the US. Cement production accounts for 7.5% of human-made CO2.
 • Heating limestone to high temperatures with fossil fuels causes emissions.

About recycled cement

• The scientists found that they can reactivate used cement by heating it again. They are calling it “electric
cement”. This can be done using heat from steel recycling.
• Steel recycling uses chemicals to create slag. Used cement has a similar composition to slag.

Significance
• It can decarbonise the entire cement-making process. Also reduces pollution in steel recycling.
• Electric cement may be cheaper due to waste heat usage from steel recycling.