Cicadas

Why in news?

• A trillion cicadas from two different broods are expected to begin appearing in the Midwest and Southeast regions of the United States at the end of April.

About

• It’s the first time since 1803 that Brood XIX, or the Great Southern Brood, and Brood XIII, or the Northern Illinois Brood, will appear together in an event known as a dual emergence.

Cicadas

• Cicadas are insects and members of the superfamily Cicadoidea.
• Cicadas have prominent eyes set wide apart, short antennae, and membranous front wings.
• Cicadas are found in tropical and temperate areas worldwide and occur in deserts, grasslands, and forests.
• They have an exceptionally loud song, produced in most species by the rapid buckling and unbuckling of drum-like tymbals.

Right Against Climate Change a Fundamental Right

Why in news?

• Recently, the Supreme Court of India observed that the right against climate change is a distinct fundamental and human right.

Background:

• The Supreme Court’s Judgement came in a case connected with the survival of the endangered Great Indian Bustard species.
• The court constituted an expert committee to examine the problem faced by the bird species whose natural habitat and flight routes collide with power transmission lines in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

About the Supreme Court’s Judgement

• The Supreme Court of India noted that the right to a healthy environment, safe from the ill-effects of climate change, was a ‘fundamental human right’.
• The court linked the right against climate change to Articles 21 (right to life) and 14 (right to equality), stating that the rights to life and equality could not be fully realised without a clean, stable environment.
• It highlighted the interconnection between climate change and various human rights, including the right to health, indigenous rights, gender equality, and the right to development.
• It underscores the urgent need for India to consider setting up a climate law while staying true to its goals of climate justice, carbon space, and environmental protection.
• Current laws, such as the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, are not adequate to deal with climate change.

The Right to a Healthy Environment:

• The right to a healthy environment is an integral part of fundamental rights conferred on citizens by the Constitution of India.
• Article 21 guarantees the fundamental right to life, has been interpreted to include the right to live in a pollution-free environment.
• The Supreme Court has previously recognized sustainable development as an integral part of fundamental rights.
• It has stated that sustainable development cannot be allowed to be hampered by environmental degradation.