Moore’s Law

• Moore's Law states that the number of transistors on a microchip doubles every two years.
• The law claims that we can expect the speed and capability of our computers to increase every two years.
• Exponential growth - If the size of a microchip was reduced by some factor, its efficiency improved by the cube of that factor – an exponential gain.
• Transistors - It can conduct electricity, which contain carbon and silicon molecules that can make the electricity run faster across the circuit.
• A transistor is a semiconductor device used to amplify or switch electrical signals and power.
• The faster the integrated circuit conducts electricity, the faster the computer operates.
• Integrated circuit - An integrated circuit (IC) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece of silicon semiconductor material.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in Antarctica

The Southern Ocean has two MPAs

1. Southern shelf of the South Orkney Islands
2. Ross Sea

Southern shelf of the South Orkney Islands

• It was established as an MPA in 2009.
• All types of fishing, other than scientific research, are prohibited within the southern shelf of the South Orkney Islands MPA.
• Discharges and dumping from fishing vessels are also not allowed.

Ross Sea

• A ‘no take’ General Protection Zone (a fully protected area where no commercial fishing is permitted).
• A Special Research Zone which allows for limited research fishing for krill and toothfish.
• A Krill Research Zone which allows for controlled research fishing for krill, in accordance with the objectives of the MPA.
• 72 per cent of the waters are closed to commercial fishing.

30X 30 goal

• A global target to protect 30% of the planet for nature by 2030 (known as '30x30')
• This agreement was reached at the 15th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2022.

Geopolitics & 30x30 goal

• An MPA was proposed in the Weddell Sea by the EU and Norway and in the waters surrounding the Antarctic Peninsula by Chile and Argentina.
• In 2021, India extended its support for designating East Antarctica and the Weddell Sea as MPA. 

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)

• It is an intergovernmental body set up in 1982 to conserve Antarctic marine life.
• It has 27 members and 10 more countries have acceded to the Convention.
• It aims to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea includes the Arctic and Antarctica.

Comprehensive Rubber Information System Platform (CRISP)

• It was developed by the Rubber Research Institute of India (RRII) in collaboration with the Digital University of Kerala.
• Aim – To educate growers about rubber cultivation and provide online solutions.
• The farmers will now be able to receive recommendations of RRII on productivity enhancement, reduction of cultivation cost, maintenance of soil fertility, disease control measures, etc.
• Many of these recommendations are location specific and can be linked to geo-information systems and delivered directly to the farmers.
• One of the most significant polymers for human society is natural rubber.
• Natural rubber is a critical raw material utilised in the manufacture of several items.
• Latex is found in medical gadgets, surgical gloves, aviation and automotive tyres, pacifiers, clothing, and toys, among other things.

Atmospheric Rivers

• It is a quantity of smoke that rises in the air of moisture from the tropics to higher latitudes, delivering unrelenting rain or snow.
• It is more frequent on the east coast than they are on the west coast.
• If air temperature increases, the intensity of atmospheric rivers become larger.
• When atmospheric rivers pass over land they can cause conditions similar to those of hurricanes with intense and rapid rainfall, cyclone force winds, and significantly increased wave heights.
• Ten or more atmospheric rivers can be happening at once across the globe.
• In the western US, they account for 30% to 50% of annual precipitation.
• A strong one is the Pineapple Express, with moisture transported from the tropical Pacific around Hawaii to the US and Canadian West Coasts.

Background Radiation

• Background radiations are the radioactive radiations to which we are exposed even in the absence of an actual radioactive source.
• Altitude and latitude can also influence the level of background radiation at any one site.
• All rocks and soils contain some trace amount of natural radioactivity and can sometimes be ingested or inhaled if disturbed.
• It is present in the environment may be from natural origin or Artificial/Man-made sources.
• Naturally occurring radioactive minerals in the ground, soil, and water can produce background radiation.
• Artificial/Manmade radiation includes radioactive fallout from nuclear weapons test, medical diagnostic use of ionizing radiation, X-ray machines, particle accelerators and transport of radioactive materials.
• Weather conditions also affect radiation levels, as snow cover may shield these elements, and radioactive particulates can wash out of the air during rain storms.
• Cosmic radiation – It comes from the sun and stars
• Terrestrial radiation - It comes from the Earth, and internal radiation which exists in all living things.
• Radon is a gas that can concentrate indoors and be inhaled, along with its decay products.
• Food products and water also contains radioactivity.