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139.
It is indisputable that in order to fulfil its many functions, water should be clean and biologically valuable. The costs connected with the provision of biologically valuable water for food production, with the maintenance of sufficiently clean water, therefore, are primarily production costs. Purely “environmental” costs seem to be in this respect only costs connected with the safeguarding of cultural, recreational and sports functions which the water courses and reservoirs fulfil both in nature and in human settlements.
The pollution problems of the atmosphere resemble those of the water only partly. So far, the supply of air has not been deficient as was the case with water, and the dimensions of the air-shed are so vast that a number of people still hold the opinion that air need not be economized. However, scientific forecasts have shown that the time may be already approaching when clear and biologically valuable air will become problem No. 1.
Air being ubiquitous, people are particularly sensitive about any reduction in the quality of the atmosphere, the increased contents of dust and gaseous exhalations, and particularly about the presence of odours. The demand for purity of atmosphere, therefore, emanates much more from the population itself than from the specific sectors of the national economy affected by a polluted or even biologically aggressive atmosphere.
The households’ share in atmospheric pollution is far bigger than that of industry which, in turn, further complicates the economic problems of atmospheric purity. Some countries have already collected positive experience with the reconstruction of whole urban sectors on the basis of new heating appliances based on the combustion of solid fossil fuels; estimates of the economic consequences of such measures have also been put forward.
In contrast to water, where the maintenance of purity would seem primarily to be related to the costs of production and transport, a far higher proportion of the costs of maintaining the purity of the atmosphere derives from environmental consideration. Industrial sources of gaseous and dust emissions are well known and classified; their location can be accurately identified, which makes them controllable. With the exception, perhaps, of the elimination of sulphur dioxide, technical means and technological processes exist which can be used for the elimination of all excessive impurities of the air from the various emissions.
Atmospheric pollution caused by the private property of individuals (their dwellings, automobiles, etc.) is difficult to control. Some sources such as motor vehicles are very mobile, and they are thus capable of polluting vast territories. In this particular case, the cost of anti-pollution measures will have to be borne, to a considerable extent, by individuals, whether in the form of direct costs or indirectly in the form of taxes, dues, surcharges etc.
The problem of noise is a typical example of an environmental problem which cannot be solved only passively, i.e., merely by protective measures, but will require the adoption of active measures, i.e., direct interventions at the source. The costs of a complete protection against noise are so prohibitive as to make it unthinkable even in the economically most developed countries. At the same time it would not seem feasible, either economically or politically, to force the population to carry the costs of individual protection against noise, for example, by reinforcing the sound insulation of their homes. A solution of this problem probably cannot be found in the near future.[1] Scientific forecasts have shown that clear and biologically valuable air:
(1) is likely to remain abundant for some time
(2) may soon be dangerously lacking
(3) creates fewer economic difficulties than does water pollution
(4) may be beyond the capacity of our technology to protect[2] The costs involved in the maintenance of pure water are determined primarily by:
I. Production costs
II. Transport costs
III. Research costs
(1) I only
(2) I and II only
(3) III only
(4) II and III only
[3] According to the passage, the problem of noise can be solved through:
I. Active measures
II. Passive measures
III. Tax levies
(1) I only
(2) I and II only
(3) III only
(4) II and III only[4] According to the passage, the costs of some anti-pollution measures will have to be borne by individuals because:
(1) individuals contribute to the creation of population
(2) industry is not willing to bear its share
(3) governments do not have adequate resources
(4) individuals are more easily taxed than producersasked in MAT
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140.
The lithosphere, or outer shell, of the earth is made up of about a dozen rigid plates that move with respect to one another. New lithosphere is created at mid-ocean ridges by the upwelling and cooling of magma from the earth’s interior. Since new lithosphere is continuously being created and the earth is not expanding to any appreciable extent, the question arises: What happens to the “odd” lithosphere?
The answer came in the late 1960s as the last major link in the theory of sea-floor spreading and plate tectonics that has revolutionized our understanding of tectonic processes, or structural deformation, in the earth and has provided a unifying theme for many diverse observations of the earth sciences. The old lithosphere is subducted, or pushed down, into the earth’s mantle (the thick shell of red-hot rock beneath the earth’s thin, cooler crust and above its metallic, partly melted core). As the formerly rigid plate descends it slowly heats up, and over a period of millions of years it is absorbed into the general circulation of the earth’s mantle.
The subduction of the lithosphere is perhaps the most significant phenomenon in global tectonics. Subduction not only explains what happens to old lithosphere but also accounts for many of the geologic processes that shape the earth’s surface. Most of the world’s volcanoes and earthquakes are associated with descending lithospheric plates. The prominent island arcs—chains of islands such as the Aleutians, the Kuriles, the Marianas, and the islands of Japan—are surface expressions of the subduction process. The deepest trenches of the world’s oceans, including the Java and Tonga trenches and all others associated with island arcs, mark the seaward boundary of subduction zones. Major mountain belts, such as the Andes and the Himalayas, have resulted from the convergence and subduction of lithospheric plates.
To understand the subduction process it is necessary to look at the thermal regime of the earth. The temperatures within the earth at first increase rapidly with depth, reaching about 1,200 degrees Celsius at a depth of 100 kilometers. Then they increase more gradually, approaching 2,000 degrees C at about 500 kilometers. The minerals in peridotite, the major constituent of the upper mantle, start to melt at about 1,200 C, or typically at a depth of 100 kilometers. Under the oceans the upper mantle is fairly soft and may contain some molten material at depths as shallow as 80 kilometers. The soft region of the mantle, over which the rigid lithospheric plate normally moves, is the asthenosphere. It appears that in certain areas convection currents in the asthenosphere may drive the plates, and that in other regions the plate motions may drive the convection currents.
Several factors contribute to the heating of the lithosphere as it descends into the mantle. First, heat simply flows into the cooler lithosphere from the surrounding warmer mantle. Since the conductivity of the rock increases with temperature, the conductive heating becomes more efficient with increasing depth. Second, as the lithospheric slab descends it is subjected to increasing pressure, which introduces heat
of compression. Third, the slab is heated by the radioactive decay of uranium, thorium and potassium, which are present in the earth’s crust and add heat at a constant rate to the descending material. Fourth, heat is provided by the energy released when the minerals in the lithosphere change to denser phases, or more compact crystal structures, as they are subjected to higher pressures during descent. Finally, heat is generated by friction, shear stresses and the dissipation of viscous motions at the boundaries between the moving lithospheric plate and the surrounding mantle. Among all these sources the first and fourth contribute the most toward the heating of the descending lithosphere.[1] According to the passage, which of the following statements is/are true of the earth’s mantle?
I. It is in a state of flux.
II. Its temperature far exceeds that of the lithosphere.
III. It eventually incorporates the subducted lithosphere.
(1) I only
(2) I and III only
(3) II only
(4) I, II and III[2] It can be inferred from the passage that the author regards current knowledge about the relationship between lithosphere plate motions and the convection currents in the asthenosphere as:
(1) obsolete
(2) derivative
(3) unfounded
(4) tentative[3] The author is most probably addressing which of the following audiences?
(1) Geothermal researchers investigating the asthenosphere as a potential energy source
(2) College undergraduates enrolled in an introductory course on geology
(3) Historians of science studying the origins of plate tectonic theory
(4) Graduate students engaged in analyzing the rate of sea-floor spreading[4] Which of the following is not true of the heating of the lithosphere as it is described in the passage?
(1) The temperature gradient between the lithosphere and the surrounding mantle enables heat to be transferred from the latter to the former.
(2) The more the temperature of the lithospheric slab increases, the more conductive the rock itself becomes.
(3) Minerals in the lithospheric slab release heat in the course of phase changes that occur during their descent into the mantle.
(4) The further the lithospheric slab descends into the mantle, the faster the radioactive decay of elements within it adds to its heat.asked in MAT
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141.
Agriculture dominates change in India through its causal links with factor and product markets. It employs 60 per cent of the labour force and contributes 26 per cent of the gross domestic product. In the poorer States, its contribution to the domestic product is close to 40 per cent. Low productivity in agriculture has led to the concentration of the poor in this sector. Due to the sheer size of the agricultural economy and the importance of its major products (cereals) in the diets of the poor, gains in agricultural productivity have significant potential impact on poverty. Theoretically, it is possible to reduce poverty as well as expand the domestic market for industry by raising labour productivity in agriculture and spreading its gains among the low income groups. Modelling of the linkages between agricultural and industrial growth has shown that a 10 per cent increase in agricultural output would increase industrial output by 5 per cent and urban workers would benefit by both increased industrial employment and price deflation. However, there is a symmetry of adjustments in the demand and supply of agricultural goods. An increase in non-agricultural production would lead to an immediate increase in demand for intermediate and final agricultural goods, whereas supply-side adjustments involving re-allocation of resources and net additional investment for capacity expansion take a much longer period. There is a widely held view that in a large country like India, the demand stimulus for industrialization would come mainly from agriculture with less social and economic costs.
Interdependencies in food and labour market are important for the development process. An upward shift in the food supply curve would simultaneously result in an upward shift in the labour demand curve. The magnitude of the interdependence depends on the technique of production causing the shifts in the food supply curve. Similarly, an upward shift in the labour supply curve shifts up the food demand curve. The extent of interdependence between the forces of labour supply and food demand depends on the employment output elasticity and the income elasticity of demand for food. The recent estimate of the employment output elasticity in agriculture is around 0.5, income elasticity of food is in the range of 0.55-0.60 and that for cereals is 0.25-0.30. The other important inter-dependency, which plays a crucial role in inducing indirect employment, is that between food and other sectors through demand linkages. Since food accounts for a major share in the budget of the poor and any reduction in the food price levels a significant proportion of income for other items, a lower food price stimulates employment in industrial and service sectors. On the other hand an increase in the food price would increase the wage costs of industrial products and hence the prices of industrial products. In the absence of adjustments through exports, it would result in demand deficiency. Clearly, the most favourable situation in India is one in which labour demand outpaces its supply and food supply outpaces its demand.
Wage rate cannot fall below a certain minimum determined by the costs of subsistence living and the labour supply curve turns elastic at the subsistence wage rate. Demographic pressure cannot push the wage rate below the subsistence level. People would be willing to starve rather than work unless the energy expended in physical work is compensated by the energy provided by food. Food grain price usually determines the subsistence wage rate in agricultural as well as in the urban informal sector since food grains account for about four-fifth of the calorie intake of the poor.[1] Which of the following is meant by “the labour supply curve turns elastic at the subsistence wage rate” as used in the passage?
(1) People refuse to work at the minimum wage rate.
(2) People are eager to work at the minimum wage rate.
(3) People still work at the minimum wage rate.
(4) People have no option but to work at the minimum wage rate.[2] Which of the following statements is not true in the context of the passage?
(1) Increase in labour productivity in agriculture can reduce poverty.
(2) Agricultural sector can increase the demand for labour forces.
(3) Agricultural sector can provide the impetus for greater industrialization at lower cost.
(4) All are true.[3] Which of the following in addition to employment output elasticity, according to the passage, creates indirect employment?
(1) Inter-linkage of demand of food and other sectors.
(2) Income elasticity of demand for food.
(3) Inter-dependence of forces of labour supply and food demand.
(4) All the above[4] Why, according to the passage, does lower food price stimulate employment in the industrial and service sectors?
(1) Poorer people cannot afford to buy non-food products.
(2) The production cost of non-agricultural products and services reduces.
(3) Lower price of food items provides the poor with extra funds to buy other products and services.
(4) Industrial sector can afford to employ more people at lower cost.asked in MAT
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142.
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143.
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144.