23 Sep Prelims Sure Shot
C-40 Summit of Mayors at Copenhagen
- C40 is a network of the world’s megacities committed to addressing climate change. C40 supports cities to collaborate effectively, share knowledge and drive meaningful, measurable and sustainable action on climate change.
- The C40 Mayors Summit takes place every three years, bringing together the mayors and leaders of the 96 member cities of the C40 network from across the globe. The Copenhagen Summit will celebrate and share the most effective climate solutions being delivered in cities worldwide this year.
- Representing 700+ million citizens and one quarter of the global economy, mayors of the C40 cities are committed to delivering on the most ambitious goals of the Paris Agreement at the local level
- Previous C40 summits have been hosted by London, New York, Seoul, São Paulo, Johannesburg and Mexico City.
Endosulfan
- Endosulfan is an organochlorine insecticide that is being phased out globally.
- Health and environment impact: Endosulfan became a highly controversial agrichemical due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor.
- Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global ban on the manufacture and use of Endosulfan was negotiated under the “Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants” in 2011. The ban has taken effect in 2012.
Asian elephants perceive distress and also respond to it, say researchers
- The paper titled Behavioural responses of free-ranging Asian elephants (elephas maximus) towards dying or dead conspecifics, (conspecifics refers to member of same species) was published in the Springer group of publications earlier this year.
- Researchers observed that the elephants showed behaviours like exploratory (sniffing and inspecting) and epimeletic (supporting the distressed animals) or physically helping supporting dying calves.
- Well-known ecologist from the Indian Institute of Science and elephant expert Raman Sukumar who has contributed to the paper said that from the evolutionary biology perspective these behaviours of elephants appear as an adaptive feature.
N- Nitrosodiummethylamin
- N-Nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), also known as dimethylnitrosamine (DMN), is a semi-volatile organic chemical, produced as by-product of several industrial processes and present at very low levels in certain foodstuffs.
- NDMA is water-soluble, yellow in colour, and has little or no taste and odour. It is toxic to the liver and other organs and is a probable human carcinogen.
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