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Flashcards

Environmental Science

Kimberly Williams English 81 cards

Cards in this deck (81)

  1. 1acid depositionThe settling of acidic or acid-forming pollutants from the atmosphere onto Earth’s surface. This may take place by precipitation, fog, gases, or the deposition of dry particles.
  2. 2acid mine drainageA process in which sulfide minerals in newly exposed rock surfaces react with oxygen and rainwater to produce sulfuric acid, which causes chemical runoff as it leaches metals from the rocks. Acid drainage is a natural phenomenon, but mining greatly accelerates it by exposing many new surfaces.
  3. 3acid rainAcid deposition that takes place through rain
  4. 4acidicThe property of a solution in which the concentration of hydrogen (H+) ions is greater than the concentration of hydroxide (OH–) ions.
  5. 5active solar energy collectionAn approach in which technological devices are used to focus, move, or store solar energy
  6. 6acute exposureExposure to a toxicant occurring in high amounts for short periods of time
  7. 7adaptation (climate change)The pursuit of strategies to protect ourselves from the impacts of climate change
  8. 8adaptation (evolution)(1) The process by which traits that lead to increased reproductive success in a given environment evolve in a population through natural selection. (2) A trait that confers greater likelihood that an individual will reproduce
  9. 9adaptive managementThe systematic testing of different management approaches to improve methods over time
  10. 10aerosolsVery fine liquid droplets or solid particles aloft in the atmosphere
  11. 11age structureThe relative numbers of individuals of different ages within a population. Age structure can have a strong effect on rates of population growth or decline and is often expressed as a ratio of age classes, consisting of organisms (1) not yet mature enough to reproduce, (2) capable of reproduction, and (3) beyond their reproductive years
  12. 12agricultural revolutionThe shift around 10,000 years ago from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural way of life in which people began to grow crops and raise domestic animals
  13. 13agricultureThe practice of cultivating soil, producing crops, and raising livestock for human use and consumption
  14. 14air pollutantA gas or particulate material added to the atmosphere that can affect climate or harm people or other living things
  15. 15air pollutionThe release of air pollutants
  16. 16airshedThe geographic area that produces air pollutants likely to end up in a waterway
  17. 17allergenA toxicant that overactivates the immune system, causing an immune response when one is not necessary.
  18. 18alloyA substance created by fusing a metal with other metals or nonmetals. Bronze is an alloy of the metals copper and tin, and steel is an alloy of iron and the nonmetal carbon
  19. 19anthropocentrismA human-centered view of our relationship with the environment. Compare biocentrism and ecocentrism
  20. 20aquacultureThe cultivation of aquatic organisms for food in controlled environments
  21. 21aquiferAn underground water reservoir
  22. 22artificial selectionNatural selection conducted under human direction. Examples include the selective breeding of crop plants, pets, and livestock
  23. 23asbestosAny of several types of mineral that form long, thin microscopic fibers—a structure that allows asbestos to insulate buildings for heat, muffle sound, and resist fire. When inhaled and lodged in lung tissue, asbestos scars the tissue and may eventually lead to lung cancer or asbestosis
  24. 24asbestosisA disorder resulting from lung tissue scarred by acid following prolonged inhalation of asbestos.
  25. 25asthenosphereA layer of the upper mantle, just below the lithosphere, consisting of especially soft rock
  26. 26atmosphereThe layer of gases surrounding planet Earth. Compare biosphere; hydrosphere; lithosphere
  27. 27atmospheric depositionThe wet or dry deposition onto land of a wide variety of pollutants, including mercury, nitrates, organochlorines, and others. Acid deposition is one type of atmospheric deposition
  28. 28atmospheric pressureThe weight (or gravitational force) per unit area produced by a column of air
  29. 29atomThe smallest component of an element that maintains the chemical properties of that element
  30. 30autotroph (primary producer)An organism that can use the energy from sunlight to produce its own food. Includes green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria
  31. 31bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)A naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a protein that kills many pests, including caterpillars and the larvae of some flies and beetles
  32. 32background extinction rateThe average rate of extinction that occurred before the appearance of humans
  33. 33basicThe property of a solution in which the concentration of hydroxide (OH–) ions is greater than the concentration of hydrogen (H+) ions
  34. 34bedrockThe continuous mass of solid rock that makes up Earth’s crust
  35. 35benthicOf, relating to, or living on the bottom of a water body
  36. 36bioaccumulationThe buildup of toxicants in the tissues of an animal
  37. 37biocapacityA term in ecological footprint accounting meaning the amount of biologically productive land and sea available to us
  38. 38biocentrismA philosophy that ascribes relative values to actions, entities, or properties on the basis of their effects on all living things or on the integrity of the biotic realm in general. The biocentrist evaluates an action in terms of its overall impact on living things, including—but not exclusively focusing on—human beings
  39. 39biodieselDiesel fuel produced by mixing vegetable oil, used cooking grease, or animal fat with small amounts of ethanol or methanol (wood alcohol) in the presence of a chemical catalyst
  40. 40biodiversityThe variety of life across all levels of biological organization, including the diversity of species, genes, populations, and communities
  41. 41biodiversity hotspotAn area that supports an especially great diversity of species, particularly species that are endemic to the area
  42. 42bioenergyEnergy harnessed from plant and animal matter, including wood from trees, charcoal from burned wood, and combustible animal waste products, such as cattle manure. Also called biomass energy
  43. 43biofuelFuel produced from biomass sources and used primarily to power automobiles. Examples include ethanol and biodiesel.
  44. 44biological controlControl of pests and weeds with organisms that prey on or parasitize them, rather than with chemical pesticides
  45. 45biological hazardHuman health hazards that result from ecological interactions among organisms. These include parasitism by viruses, bacteria, or other pathogens
  46. 46biomagnificationThe magnification of the concentration of toxicants in an organism caused by its consumption of other organisms in which toxicants have bioaccumulated
  47. 47biomass(1) In ecology, organic material that makes up living organisms; the collective mass of living matter in a given place and time. (2) In energy, organic material derived from living or recently living organisms, containing chemical energy that originated with photosynthesis.
  48. 48biomeA major regional complex of similar plant communities; a large ecological unit defined by its dominant plant type and vegetation structure
  49. 49biophiliaAn inherent love for and fascination with nature and an instinctive desire people have to affiliate with other living things. Defined by biologist E.O. Wilson as “the connections that human beings subconsciously seek with the rest of life.”
  50. 50biopowerPower attained by combusting biomass sources to generate electricity.
  51. 51bioprospectingSearching for organisms that might provide new drugs, medicines, foods, or other products of value or interest.
  52. 52biosphereThe sum total of all the planet’s living organisms and the nonliving portions of the environment with which they interact
  53. 53biosphere reservesA tract of land with exceptional biodiversity that couples preservation with sustainable development to benefit local people. Biosphere reserves are designated by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) following application by local stakeholders
  54. 54biotechnologyThe material application of biological science to create products derived from organisms
  55. 55birth controlThe effort to control the number of children one bears, particularly by reducing the frequency of pregnancy
  56. 56boreal forestA biome of northern coniferous forest that stretches in a broad band across much of Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Scandinavia. Also known as taiga, boreal forest consists of a limited number of species of evergreen trees, such as black spruce, that dominate large regions of forests interspersed with occasional bogs and lakes
  57. 57bottle billA law establishing a program whereby consumers pay a deposit on bottles or cans upon purchase—often 5 or 10 cents per container—and then receive a refund when they return them to stores after use. Bottle bills reduce litter, raise recycling rates, and decrease the waste stream
  58. 58bottleneckIn environmental science, a step in a process that limits the progress of the overall process
  59. 59breakdown productA compound that results from the degradation of a toxicant
  60. 60brownfieldAn area of land whose redevelopment or reuse is complicated by the presence or potential presence of hazardous material
  61. 61campus sustainabilityA term describing a wide array of efforts taking place on college and university campuses by which students, faculty, staff, and administrators are trying to reduce the environmental impacts of their institutions.
  62. 62canopyThe upper level of tree leaves and branches in a forest.
  63. 63cap-and-tradeAn emissions trading system in which government determines an acceptable level of pollution and then issues polluting parties permits to pollute. A company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell this credit to other companies
  64. 64captive breedingThe practice of keeping members of threatened and endangered species in captivity so that their young can be bred and raised in controlled environments and subsequently reintroduced into the wild.
  65. 65carbohydrateAn organic compound consisting of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
  66. 66carbonThe chemical element with six protons and six neutrons. A key element in organic compounds
  67. 67carbon capture and storageTechnologies or approaches to remove carbon dioxide from emissions of power plants or other facilities, and sequester, or store, it (generally in liquid form) underground under pressure in locations where it will not seep out, in an effort to mitigate global climate change
  68. 68carbon cycleA major nutrient cycle consisting of the routes that carbon atoms take through the nested networks of environmental systems
  69. 69carbon dioxideA colorless gas used by plants for photosynthesis, given off by respiration, and released by burning fossil fuels. A primary greenhouse gas whose buildup contributes to global climate change.
  70. 70carbon footprintThe cumulative amount of carbon, or carbon dioxide, that a person or institution emits, and is indirectly responsible for emitting, into the atmosphere, contributing to global climate change
  71. 71carbon monoxideA colorless, odorless gas produced primarily by the incomplete combustion of fuel
  72. 72carbon offsetA voluntary payment to another entity intended to enable that entity to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that one is unable or unwilling to reduce oneself
  73. 73carbon pricingThe practice of putting a price on the emission of carbon dioxide, either through carbon trading or a carbon tax, as a means to address global climate change. Carbon pricing compensates the public for the external costs of fossil fuel use by shifting costs to emitters, and creates financial incentives to reduce emissions.
  74. 74carbon taxA type of green tax charged to entities that pollute by emitting carbon dioxide. Carbon taxation is one approach to carbon pricing, and gives polluters a financial incentive to reduce emissions in order to address global climate change.
  75. 75carbon tradingA form of emissions trading that focuses on the emission of carbon dioxide.
  76. 76carbon-neutralityThe state in which an individual, business, or institution emits no net carbon to the atmosphere
  77. 77carcinogenA chemical or type of radiation that causes cancer
  78. 78carrying capacityThe maximum population size of a given organism that a given environment can sustain
  79. 79case historyMedical approach involving the observation and analysis of individual patients
  80. 80CassandraA worldview (or a person holding the worldview) that predicts doom and disaster as a result of our environmental impacts
  81. 81—

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Literally the entire glossary from my Environmental Science textbook
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