AP Environmental Science Final Flashcards
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| 748099727 | Element | Fundamental type of matter; chemical substance with a given set of properties, which cannot be broken down into substance with other properties. 92 in nature, 20 man-made: PURE | |
| 748099728 | Molecule | Combination of two or more atoms. CO, carbon monoxide | |
| 748099729 | Compound | Molecule whose atoms are composed of two or more elements: H2O, WATER | |
| 748099730 | Hydrocarbon | Organic compound consisting solely of hydrogen and carbon elements: CH4, METHANE | |
| 748099731 | Solution | A homogenous mixture of substances in which elements, molecules, or compounds come together without chemically bonding. Most often liquids, but sometimes gases or solids: APPLE JUICE | |
| 748099732 | Macromolecule | Very large molecule, such as a protein, nucleic acid, carbohydrate, lipid. PROTEIN | |
| 748099733 | Protein | Macromolecule made up of long chains of amino acids. MEAT | |
| 748099734 | Nucleic acid | Macromolecule that directs production of proteins. Includes DNA and RNA. GENETIC MATERIAL | |
| 748099735 | Carbohydrates | Organic compound consisting of atoms of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. BREAD | |
| 748099736 | Lipids | Chemically diverse group of macromolecules that are classified together because do not dissolve in water. FATS | |
| 748099737 | Primary producer | Autotroph. Organism that can use energy from sunlight to produce its own food. Includes green plants, algae, and cyanobacteria. PLANTS | |
| 748099738 | Chemosynthesis | Process by which bacteria in hydrothermal vents use the chemical energy of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to transform inorganic carbon into organic compounds. UNDERWATER SYNTHESIS | |
| 748099739 | Cellular respiration | Process by which cell uses chemical reactivity of oxygen to split glucose into its constituent parts, water and carbon dioxide and thereby release chemical energy that can be used to form chemical bonds or perform other tasks within cell. BODYBUILDING | |
| 748099740 | Detritivore | Organism, like millipede or soil insect, that scavenges the waste products or dead bodies of community members. EAT DEAD | |
| 748099741 | Decomposer | Organism, like fungus or bacterium that break down leaf litter and other non living matter into simple constituents that can be taken up by plants. BREAKS DEAD | |
| 748099742 | Trophic level | Rank in the feeding hierarchy of a food chain. Organisms at higher trophic levels consume those at lower trophic levels. FOOD CHAIN | |
| 748099743 | Biomass | Organic material that makes up living organisms. LIVING MASS | |
| 748099744 | Keystone species | Species that has especially far-reaching effect on a community. SEA OTTERS | |
| 748099745 | Canopy | Aboveground portion of a plant community or crop, formed by plant crowns. For forests, canopy also refers to the upper layer or habitat zone, formed by mature tree crowns and including other biological organisms. |  |
| 748099746 | Emergent layer | Top foliage layer in a forest where the trees extend above surrounding trees. CANOPY | |
| 748099747 | Understory | A layer of shorter plants that grow in the shade of a forest canopy. SHRUBS/FERNS | |
| 748099748 | Epiphyte | Plant that is not rooted in soil but instead grows directly on the body of another plant, but does not harm it. COMMENSALISM | |
| 748099749 | Deciduous | Term describing trees that lose leaves each fall and remain dormant during winter, when hard freezes would endanger leaves. MAPLE | |
| 748099750 | Estivation | Period of inactivity and lowered body temperature that some animals undergo in summer as a protection against hot weather and lack of food. HEAT FATIGUE | |
| 748099751 | Coniferous | Trees that produce seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like needles. PINE | |
| 748099752 | Permafrost | Tundra, underground soil that remains more or less permanently frozen. |  |
| 748099753 | Salinity | Relative proportion of salt in a solution. HOW SALTY | |
| 748099754 | Photic zone | Ocean or freshwater body, well-lit top layer of water where photosynthesis occurs. SUNLIT TOP, ALGAE | |
| 748099755 | Limnetic zone | Water body, layer of open water through which sunlight penetrates. EUPHOTIC | |
| 748099756 | Estuary | Area where river flows into the ocean, mixing fresh water with salt water. RIVER MOUTH | |
| 748099757 | Upwelling | Flow of cold, deep water toward the surface. Occurs in areas where surface currents diverge. VERTICAL CONVECTION | |
| 748099758 | Extirpation | The disappearance of a particular population from a given area, but not the entire species globally. POPULATION DEATH | |
| 748099759 | Threatened species | A species that could become endangered in the near future. IN DANGER SPECIES | |
| 748099760 | Teratogen | Toxicant that causes harm to to the unborn, resulting in birth defects. TOXIC BABIES | |
| 748099761 | Asbestos | Any of several types of mineral that form long, thing microscopic fibers- a structure that allows asbestos to insulate buildings for heat, muffle sounds, and resist fire. When inhaled and lodged in lung tissue, asbestos scars the tissue and may eventually lead to lung cancer or asbestosis. |  |
| 748099762 | Heat island | Area in which the air temperature is generally higher than the temperature of surrounding rural areas. HEAT CITY | |
| 748099763 | Seed-tree approach | Harvesting approach that leaves small numbers of mature and vigorous seed-producing trees standing so that they can reseed a logged area. MASS SEEDING | |
| 748099764 | Shelterwood approach | Timber harvesting approach that leaves small numbers of mature trees in place to provide shelter for seedlings as they grow. BLOCK SEEDING | |
| 748099765 | Bedrock | Continuous mass of solid rock that makes up Earth's crust. LITHOSPHERE | |
| 748099766 | Soil horizon | The layers of soil that differ in color and texture from the layers above or below it. INDIVIDUAL LAYERS | |
| 748099767 | Soil profile | Cross-section of a soil as a whole, from the surface to the bedrock. SOIL LAYERS | |
| 748099768 | Loam | Soil with relatively even mixture of clay-, soil-, and sand-sized particles. EVENLY DISTRIBUTED SOIL | |
| 748099769 | Intercropping | Planting different types of crops in alternating bands or other spatially mixed arrangements. SPACED PLANTING | |
| 748099770 | Cover crop | A crop planted to protect the soil and increase fertility; a crop planted after the harvest of another crop or between the rows of other crops. LEGUME | |
| 748099771 | Shelterbelt | Row of trees or other tall perennial plants that are planted along edges of farm fields to break wind and minimize wind erosion. TREE DEFENSE | |
| 748099772 | Polymorphs (-minerals/rocks) | Minerals with the same composition but different crystalline structures. DIAMOND VS. PLANT STRUCTURE | |
| 748099773 | Intrusive rock | Term for igneous rock formed when magma cools slowly while it is well below Earth's surface. GRANITE | |
| 748099774 | Extrusive rock | Term for igneous rock formed when magma is ejected from a volcano and cools quickly. BASALT | |
| 748099775 | Tailings | Rock and other waste materials removed as impurities when waste mineral material is separated from the metal in an ore. WASTE ORE | |
| 748099776 | Smelting | The process by which ore is melted to separate the useful metal from other elements. SEPARATING | |
| 748099777 | Placer mining | Technique of mining where miners would shovel loose dirt into boxes and then run water over the dirt to separate it from gold or silver particles. OPEN PIT | |
| 748099778 | Impermeable | Preventing especially liquids to pass or diffuse through. CAN'T PENETRATE | |
| 748099779 | Water table | Upper limit of groundwater held in an aquifer. UPPER GROUNDWATER | |
| 748099780 | Recharge zone | Where water travels downward to become part of an aquifer. REFURBRISHING | |
| 748099781 | Reservoir | Location in which nutrients in a biogeochemical cycle remain for a period of time before moving to another pool. Living or nonliving. POOL | |
| 748099782 | Red tide | A harmful algal bloom consisting of algae that produce reddish pigment that discolor surface waters. BAD ALGAE | |
| 748099783 | Conduction | Transfer of thermal energy from one substance to another through direct contact. HEAT THROUGH TOUCH | |
| 748099784 | Convection | Transfer of thermal energy by the circulation or movement of a liquid or gas. HEAT THROUGH AIR/WATER | |
| 748099785 | Catalytic converter | Converter that uses a platinum-iridium catalyst to oxidize pollutants and carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and water. POLLUTION TO SOLUTION | |
| 748099786 | Thermohaline circulation | Worldwide system of ocean currents in which warmer, fresher water moves along the surface and colder, saltier water (more dense) moves deep beneath the surface. OCEAN "CONVECTION" | |
| 748099787 | Carbon sequestration | Removal and storage of carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks (such as oceans, forests or soils) through biogeochimcal processes. STORAGE | |
| 748099788 | Oil sands | Slow-flowing, viscous deposits of bitumen mixed with sand, water, and clay saturated with a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen (or colloquially tar due to its similar appearance, odor and color). MIXED OIL (petroleum) | |
| 748099789 | Oil shale | Soft, fine-grained sedimentary rock from which oil and natural gas are obtained. OIL ORIGINATOR | |
| 748099790 | Methane hydrate | This solid consisting of molecules of methane within a crystal lattice of water ice molecules occurs underground in some Arctic locations and more widely under the seafloor on the continental shelves. CRYSTAL METHANE | |
| 748099791 | Meltdown (Nuclear) | The accidental melting of the uranium fuel rods inside the core of a nuclear reactor, causing the release of radiation. MELTING RODS | |
| 748099792 | Ocean thermal energy conversion | Alternative energy that works by pumping cold water from the deep ocean to the warm shallow water, creating steam, and spinning a turbine to create energy. OCEAN ENERGY | |
| 748099793 | Active solar heating | the gathering of solar energy by collectors to heat up water to create steam and turn turbines. UTILIZATION OF SOLAR HEAT | |
| 748099794 | Hazardous waste | Any material that can be harmful to human health or the environment if it is not properly disposed of. DANGER WASTE | |
| 748099795 | Leachate | Liquids that have percolated through a soil and that carry substances in solution or suspension. LEACHING MATERIAL | |
| 748099796 | Municipal solid waste | Waste materials produced in homes, businesses, schools, and other places in a community CONSUMER WASTE | |
| 748099797 | Material recovery facility | A specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers RECYCLING INDUSTRY | |
| 748099798 | Surface impoundment | Pond that has a sealed bottom which stores waste, creation of shallow pools that evaporate hazardous liquids. EVAPORATING WASTE | |
| 748099799 | Deep-well injection | When humans inject hazardous waste way underground to keep it from contaminating groundwater, drilling a hole in the ground that's below the water table to hold waste. UNDERGROUND DISPOSAL | |
| 748099800 | Superfund | Federal government's program to locate and investigate and clean up the worst uncontrolled and abandoned toxic waste sites nationwide GOVERNMENT DISPOSAL | |
| 748099801 | Kerogen | Solid, waxy mixture of hydrocarbons found in oil shale rock. |  |
| 758769967 | Antiquities Act | Passed in 1906, which allows the president to protect areas of scientific or historical interest on federal lands as national monuments. MONUMENTS | |
| 758769968 | CERCLA | Also known as SUPERFUND. Addresses abandoned or historical waste sites and was enacted in 1980 to create a tax on the chemical and petroleum industries. Provided federal authority to respond to releases of hazardous waste. TAXING WASTE SITES. (aka SUPERFUND) | |
| 758769969 | Clean Air Acts | U.S. Congress these acts in 1970, 1977, and 1990, which have established air pollution regulations for key pollutants that are enforced by states and by major cities; these acts have greatly reduced outdoor air pollution from six major pollutants. REDUCE AIR POLLUTION | |
| 758769970 | Clean Water Act | Federal Law setting a national goal of making all natural surface water fit for fishing and swimming by 1983, banned polluted discharge into surface water and required the metals be removed from waste. REDUCED WATER POLLUTION DISCHARGE | |
| 758769971 | Kyoto Protocol | Agreement drafted in 1997 that calls for reducing, by 2012, emissions of six greenhouse gases to lower than their levels in 1990. Although the United States has refused to ratify the protocol, it came into force in 2005 when Russia ratified it, the 127th nation to do so. WORLDWIDE REDUCTION GREENHOUSE GAS | |
| 758769972 | Montreal Protocol | International treaty ratified in 1987 in which 180 signatory nations agreed to restrict production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in order to forestall stratospheric ozone depletion. Because of effectiveness, considered most successful effort to date in addressing global environmental problem. WORLDWIDE REDUCTION CFC | |
| 758769973 | CITES | Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of 1975 it is a step toward worldwide protection of endangered flora and fauna. WORLDWIDE SAVE ENDANGERED | |
| 758769974 | Law of the Sea Convention | United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) is a treaty that first went into force in 1982 and then was revised in 1994; 161 states are parties to this treaty that sets rules for the use and protection of the high seas and its resources. MAXIMUM SUSTAINABLE YIELD | |
| 758769975 | Stockholm Declaration | UN declaration to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants. POPs | |
| 758769976 | Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act | 1986: Requires companies to disclose info about highly hazardous chemicals they release into the air and/or water and/or dispose of on land, ad if they store more than 500 lbs of hazardous chemicals. INDUSTRY RELEASE INFO | |
| 758769977 | Endangered Species Act | Primary legislation, enacted in 1973, for protecting biodiversity in US. Forbids government and private citizens from taking actions that would destroy endangered species or their habitats, and prohibits trade in products made from endangered species. WOLF, BALD EAGLE | |
| 758769978 | Energy Policy Act | The act addresses energy production in the United States. For example, the Act provides loan guarantees for entities that develop or use innovative technologies that avoid the by-production of greenhouse gases. Another provision of the Act increases the amount of biofuel that must be mixed with gasoline sold in the United States. ENERGY PRODUCTION | |
| 758769979 | Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act | Authorizes the FDA of the u.s. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to determine the safety of drugs before marketing and to ensure that certain labeling specifications and standards in advertising are met in the marketing of products. DRUG SAFETY | |
| 758769980 | FIFRA | Provide federal control of pesticide distribution, sale, and use. All pesticides used in the United States must be registered (licensed) by EPA. Registration assures that pesticides will be properly labeled and that, if used in accordance with specifications, they will not cause unreasonable harm to the environment. Use of each registered pesticide must be consistent with use directions contained on the label or labeling. PESTICIDE LABELING | |
| 758769981 | Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 | Implementation of the most comprehensive and historic overhaul of the Nation's pesticide and food safety laws in decades. The FQPA amended the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) by fundamentally changing the way EPA regulates pesticides. Some of the major requirements include stricter safety standards, especially for infants and children, and a complete reassessment of all existing pesticide tolerances. FIFRA + FFDCA, SAFETY W/ PESTICIDES | |
| 758769982 | International Conference on Population and Development | The conference delegates achieved consensus on the following four qualitative and quantitative goals: • Universal education by 2015 • Reduction of infant and child mortality • Reduction of maternal mortality • Access to reproductive and sexual health services including family planning FAMILY PLANNING | |
| 758769983 | Lacey Act | 1900 - Federal law that prohibits importing, exporting, transporting, selling, receiving, acquiring, or purchasing of plants, animals or fish without a federal permit. Requires that we restore areas that a species was close to becoming extinct. PROTECT THE SPECIES | |
| 758769984 | Marine Mammal Protection Act | 1972 - Federal law that gives responsibility of protecting marine animals to the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Anterior; in 1994 you can't harass marine mammals; doesn't protect polar bear trophies import/export. MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION | |
| 758769985 | Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act | Requires purchase of a stamp by waterfowl hunters. Revenue generated is used to acquire wetlands. Since its inception, the program has resulted in the protection of approximately 4.5 million acres (18,000 km²) of waterfowl habitat. RESTORE WETLAND W/ STAMP | |
| 758769986 | NEPA | Federal government must consider the environmental impact of a proposed federal action. Provided the basis for EISs. IMPACT STATEMENT | |
| 758769987 | Occupational Safety and Health Act | Law passed by Congress to ensure workers from being injured or contracting diseases in the course of their employment. EMPLOYEE SAFETY | |
| 758769988 | Oil Pollution Act of 1990 | This legislation establishes liability for damages to natural resources resulting from a catastrophic oil spill, including a trust fund that pays to clean up spills when the responsible party is unable to; a tax on oil provides money for the trust fund. NO OIL POLLUTION | |
| 758769989 | Resource Conservation and Recovery Act | Management of non-hazardous and hazardous solid waste including landfills and storage tanks. Set minimal standards for all waste disposal facilities and for hazardous wastes. HAZARDOUS WASTE MANAGEMENT | |
| 758769990 | Safe Drinking Water Act | (SDWA, 1974) set maximum contaminant levels for pollutants in drinking water that may have adverse effects on human health. SAFE DRINKING WATER | |
| 758769991 | Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 | U.S law that mandates efforts to reclaim (restore) mining sites after use, requiring companies to post bonds to cover reclamation costs before mining can be approved. RECOVERING MINES | |
| 758769992 | Toxic Substances Control Act | Tracking of 75,000 industrial chemicals currently produced or imported into the United States. EPA repeatedly screens these chemicals and can require reporting or testing of those that may pose an environmental or human-health hazard. EPA can ban the manufacture and import of those chemicals that pose an unreasonable risk. CONTROL TOXINS | |
| 758769993 | Antarctic Treaty-Madrid Protocol | Adopted in 1991 in response to proposals that the wide range of provisions relating to protection of the Antarctic environment should be harmonised in a comprehensive and legally binding form. PRESERVE ANTARCTIC | |
| 758769994 | Cetaceans | Class of Mammals, Aquatic, streamlined body, paddle like forelimbs and no hind limbs, thick layer of insulating blubber, carnivorous. DOLPHINS | |
| 758769995 | Fly ash | Fine solid particles of ash that are carried into the air when fuel is combusted. CAR ASH | |
| 758769996 | Vulnerable species | Naturally rare organisms or species whose numbers have been so reduced by human activities that they are susceptible to actions that could push them into threatened or endangered status. ALMOST ENDANGERED | |
| 758769997 | Half-life | The time required for one half of the atoms of a radioisotope to emit radiation an decay products. RADIOISOTOPE | |
| 758769998 | Gangue | Waste rock that must be removed before a mineral can be used. WASTE ROCK | |
| 758769999 | Peat | A kind of precursor stage to coal, produced when organic material hat is broken down by anaerobic decomposition remains wet, near surface, and poorly compressed. COMPRESSING COAL | |
| 758770000 | Lignite | intermediate between peat and bituminous coal. COMPRESSED COAL | |
| 758770001 | Demographic bottleneck | A population founded when just a few members of a species survive a catastrophic event or colonize new habitat geographically isolated from other members of the same species. SURVIVING SPECIES MOVEMENT | |
| 758770002 | Fecundity | Quality of something that causes or assists healthy growth. HEALTHY GROWTH | |
| 758770003 | Founder effect | When a few individuals become isolated from a larger population, this smaller group may establish a new population whose gene pool isn't reflective of the source population. ISOLATED GENETICS | |
| 758770004 | Biopharming | Use of genetically engineered animals to act as biofactories for producing drugs, vaccines, antibodies, hormones, industrial chemicals such as plastics and detergents, and human body organs. ANIMAL TESTING | |
| 758770005 | Differential reproduction | Phenomenon in which individuals with adaptive genetic traits produce more living offspring than do individuals without such traits. NATURAL SELECTION (gene version) | |
| 758770006 | Hybridization (genetics) | (genetics) the act of mixing different species or varieties of animals or plants and thus to produce hybrids. MIXING | |
| 766359220 | Range of tolerance | The range of conditions within which an organism can survive. SURVIVE RANGE | |
| 766359221 | HIPPO | H = Habitat Destruction I = Introduced Species P = Pollution P = Population Growth O = Over-consumption DESTROY BIODIVERSITY | |
| 766359222 | Functional diversity | Biological and chemical processes or functions such as energy flow and matter cycling needed for the survival of species and biological communities. PROCESSES TO SURVIVE | |
| 766359223 | Humus | Dark, spongy, crumbly mass of material made up of complex organic compounds, resulting from the partial decomposition of organic matter. HEALTHY SOIL | |
| 766359224 | Cyanobacteria | Photosynthetic, oxygen-producing bacteria (formerly known as blue-green algae). BLUE-GREEN ALGAE | |
| 766359225 | Mesotrophic lake | Lake with a moderate supply of plant nutrients. REG. LAKE | |
| 766359226 | Kenaf | Rapidly growth woody plant containing fibers that can be used in making paper. Used as an alternative to tree fiber. TREE-PAPER | |
| 766359227 | Riparian zone | Zone along river EDGE RIVER | |
| 766359228 | Land trusts | Local or regional organization that preserves lands valued by its members. In most cases, purchase land outright with the aim of preserving it in its natural condition. Nature Conservancy may be considered world's largest. LAND PRESERVATION | |
| 766359229 | Reconciliation ecology | Inventing, establishing, and maintaining new habitats to conserve species diversity in places where people live, work, or play. SPECIES CONSERVATION-LOCAL | |
| 766359230 | Facilitation (species interaction) | Process by which the presence or action of one species enables another species to establish itself or grow more effectively. Most often refers to interactions among plants. LIKE COMMENSALISM | |
| 766359231 | Inertia | the tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion. RESISTANCE | |
| 766359232 | Resilience | Ability of ecological community to change in response to disturbance by later return to original state. CHANGE TO DISTURBANCE | |
| 766359233 | Industrial revolution | The change from an agricultural to an industrial society and from home manufacturing to factory production, especially the one that took place in England from about 1750 to about 1850. INDUSTRY | |
| 766359234 | Agricultural revolution | The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering. AGRICULTURE START | |
| 766359235 | Gross primary production | The total primary production of an ecosystem. PLANT PRODUCTION | |
| 766359236 | Net primary production | Energy or biomass that remains in an ecosystem after autotrophs have metabolized enough for their own maintenance through cellular respiration. Energy or biomass available for consumption by heterotrophs. ENERGY FOR OTHERS | |
| 766359237 | Carbon cycle | Major nutrient cycle consisting of routes that carbon atoms take through the nested networks of environmental systems. CARBON MOVEMENT | |
| 766359238 | Nitrogen cycle | Nutrient cycle consisting of routes that nitrogen atoms take through networks of environmental systems. NITROGEN MOVEMENT/FLUX | |
| 766359239 | Sulfur cycle | Cyclic movement of sulfur in different chemical forms from the environment to organisms and then back to the environment. SULFUR MOVEMENT | |
| 766359240 | Water cycle | Process by which water moves from Earth's surface to the atmosphere and back. WATER MOVEMENT/FLUX | |
| 766359241 | Phosphorus cycle | Movement of phosphorus atoms from rocks through the biosphere and hydrosphere and back to rocks. PHOS MOVEMENT | |
| 766359242 | Rock cycle | Sequence of events in which rocks are formed, destroyed, altered, and reformed by geological processes. ROCK CREATION | |
| 766359243 | Centrally planned economy | Economy in which nation's government determines how to allocate resources in a top-down manner. Also called "state socialist economy". HIERARCHICAL DISTRIBUTION | |
| 766359244 | Green tax | Levy on environmentally harmful activities and products aimed at providing market-based incentive to correct for market failure. TAX HAZARDS | |
| 766359245 | Permit-trading | Practice of buying and selling government-issued marketable emissions permits to conduct environmentally harmful activities. Under cap-and-trade system, government determines acceptable level of pollution and then issues permits to pollute. Company receives credit for amounts it does not emit and can then sell this credit to other companies. PERMIT EMIT | |
| 766359246 | Command-and-control | Approach to protecting the environment that sets strict legal limits and threatens punishment for violations of those limits. CAUSE AND EFFECT | |
| 766359247 | Subsidy | Government giveaway of cash. GIVEAWAY | |
| 766359248 | Mollisol | Thick dark A layer, rich in humus. Best soil profile for growing crops. Thick B layer. Rich in calcium carbonate. BEST SOIL | |
| 766359249 | Lentisol | One of many raised pores in the stem of a woody plant that allow gas exchange between the atmosphere and plant tissues. | |
| 766359250 | Purchase power parity | Theory of exchange rates whereby a unit of any given currency should be able to buy the same quantity of goods in all countries. COMMON CURRENCY | |
| 766359251 | Garrett Hardin | Published "The Tragedy of the Commons" in the journal Science in 1968; argued that rational people will exploit shared resources (commons). TRAGEDY OF COMMONS | |
| 766359252 | John Muir | Campaign for awareness of the environment; inspired creation of Yosemite National Park; became president of the Sierra Club, which was devoted to conservation. SIERRA CLUB | |
| 766359253 | Adam Smith | Scottish political economist and philosopher. His Wealth of Nations (1776) laid the foundations of classical free-market economic theory, government should not interfere with economics. Advocates Laissez Faire and founder of "invisible hand". CLASSICAL ECONOMICS | |
| 766359254 | Thomas Malthus | English economist who argued that increases in population would outgrow increases in the means of subsistence (1766-1834) POPULATION DILEMMA | |
| 766359255 | Paul Ehrlich | The Population Bomb, predicted that rapidly increasing human population would unleash famine and conflict that would consume civilization by end of 20th century. POPULATION BOMB | |
| 766359256 | Charles Darwin | English naturalist who proposed the concept of natural selection as a mechanism for evolution and as way to explain great variety of living things. NATURAL SELECTION | |
| 766359257 | Rachel Carson | One of the first people to realize the global dangers of pesticide abuse (DDT). Wrote Silent Spring, United States biologist remembered for her opposition to the use of pesticides that were hazardous to wildlife (1907-1964) SILENT SPRING | |
| 766359258 | Wackernagel and Rees | Created the idea of the ecological footprint in 1990's and hypothesized that humans are depleting natural resources 30% faster than we replenish them. ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT | |
| 766359259 | Alfred Wallace | English naturalist who proposed independently of Charles Darwin, concept of natural selection as mechanism for evolution and as way to explain variety of living things. EVOLUTION | |
| 766359260 | Gifford Pinchot | head of the U.S. Forest Service under Roosevelt, who believed that it was possible to make use of natural resources while conserving them. Closely associated with conservation ethic. CONSERVATION ETHIC | |
| 766359262 | Synergism | Interactive effect of toxicants that is more than or different from simple sum of their constituent effects. MULTIPLE TOXIN TOGETHER | |
| 766359263 | Secondary pollutants (vs. primary) | Hazardous substance produced through reaction of substances added to the atmosphere with chemicals normally found in the atmosphere whereas a primary pollutant is emitted into the troposphere in a form that is directly harmful. HARMFUL AIR REACTION | |
| 766359264 | Caprock | The top layer of impermeable rock in an artisan formation. TOP OF AQUIFER. | |
| 766359265 | Siltation | The accumulation of sediments, primarily silt, on the bottom of a reservoir. SILT ACCUMULATION | |
| 766359266 | Synfuels | Synthetic gaseous and liquid fuels produced from solid coal or sources other than natural gas or crude oil. NOT NATURAL GAS/OIL FUEL | |
| 766359267 | Karst | An area of irregular limestone in which erosion has produced fissures, sinkholes, underground streams, and caverns. ERODED LIMESTONE | |
| 766359268 | Convection cell | Unequal heating and cooling of the air often makes a pattern of rising air, sinking air, and winds. AIR RISE/FALL | |
| 766359269 | Isobar | An isogram connecting points having equal barometric pressure at a given time HURRICANE-barometric pressure | |
| 766359270 | Body burden | The sum total of all persistent toxins in our body that we accumulate from our air, water, diet, and surroundings. BIOACCUMULATE of toxins | |
| 766359271 | Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) | Chemical compounds that persist in the environment and retain biological activity for long times; they bioaccumulate and may reach harmful levels in top predators. POLLUTANTS-last long | |
| 766359272 | Polar amplification | Concept that as snow and ice melt, the exposed vegetation and soil absorbs more heat and does not reflect it like the snow used to, and thus increases snow and ice melt even more (positive feedback), processes in which global warming causes greater temperature increases at polar regions. HEAT INCREASE-in polar regions... | |
| 766359273 | Climate forcing | Amount of energy we receive from the sun, and the amount of energy we radiate back into space. GREENHOUSE GAS-increase absorbtion | |
| 766359274 | High level radioactive waste (vs. low level) | Radioactive wastes that produce high levels of ionizing radiation; commercial reactors; high concentrations (low level radioactive waste: radioactive wastes that produce low levels of ionizing radiation; low levels of concentration). HIGH RADIATION-of waste | |
| 771619928 | Meltdown | Severe overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor resulting in the core melting and radiation escaping. OVERHEATING OF CORE-in nuclear | |
| 771619929 | Nature reserve (vs. park) | Very highly protected national land, includes a buffer zone where you can travel but no deeper whereas a park is a large area of land preserved in its natural state as public property. Park is set aside for recreation. NATIONAL PARKS/REFUGE/RESERVE | |
| 771619930 | Trophic level efficiency | The ratio of the biological production of one trophic level to the biological production of the next lower trophic level. 10% | |
| 771619931 | Forestry certification | Promotes ecologically sound certified practices that maintain natural forest characteristics, and to move away from destructive techniques like large-scale clearcutting, logging in endangered and old-growth forests and destruction of natural forests etc. CERTIFIED CLEARING | |
| 771619932 | Convergent evolution | Process by which unrelated organisms independently evolve similarities when adapting to similar environments. DIFFERENT EVOLVE-to become similar | |
| 771619933 | Biotic province | region inhabited by a characteristic set of taxa (species, families, orders), bounded by barriers that prevent the spread of those distinctive kinds of life to other regions and the immigration oF foreign species. SECLUDED TAXA-species,family,order | |
| 771619934 | Surface impoundment | Hazardous waste disposal method in which a shallow depression is dug and lined with impervious material, such as clay. water containing small amounts of hazardous waste placed in pond and allowed to evaporate. EVAPORATION HAZARDOUS WASTE | |
| 771619935 | Wastewater treatment | Any of the mechanical or chemical processes used to modify the quality of wastewater in order to make it more compatible or acceptable to humans and the environment. PROCESS-to treat wastewater | |
| 771619936 | Leachate | Liquids that seep through liners of a sanitary landfill and leach into the soil underneath. LEACH LIQUIDS | |
| 771619937 | Channelization | general term for various modifications of the stream channel itself that are usually intended to increase velocity volume or both. CHANGE OF A CHANNEL | |
| 771619938 | R-to-C ratio (reserve to consumption) | Total remaining reserves of a fossil fuel divided by annual rate of production (extraction to processing) RESERVES OVER PRODUCE | |
| 771619939 | UVC (vs. UVB vs. UVA) | UVC - most powerful & dangerous form of UV radiation, but is completely absorbed in the ozone layer UVB - Ultraviolet radiation at a medium wavelength that damages living cells ad is absorbed by stratospheric ozone tanning and sunburn UVA - Longest of three wavelengths. Is unimpeded by ozone. Gets to earth and can damage living cells but not extrememly dangerous to humans ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION | |
| 771619940 | Scrubbers | Desulfurization systems that are used in smokestacks to decrease the amount of sulfur released in the air by 90% or more. SMOKE FILTER | |
| 771619941 | Polar vortex | Arctic air masses that in the winter become isolated from the rest of the atmosphere and circulate about the pole; the vortex rotates counterclockwise because of the rotation of the Earth in the Southern Hemisphere. POLAR CIRCULATION | |
| 771619942 | Hadley cell | Pair of cells of convective circulation between equator and 30 deg. north and south latitude that influence global climate patterns. AIR CURRENT-equator | |
| 771619943 | Westerlies | Prevailing winds from 30 deg to 60 deg latitude that blow from west to east. WEST BLOW MIDDLE | |
| 771619944 | Photochemical smog | Brown-air smog caused by light-driven reactions of primary pollutants with normal atmospheric compounds that produce a mix of over 100 different chemicals, ground-level ozone being the most abundant usually. LIGHT-DRIVEN SMOG | |
| 771619945 | Industrial smog | Gray-air smog caused by incomplete combustion of coal or oil when burned. COMBUSTION SMOG | |
| 771619946 | Hydrofluorocarbons | Chemicals with hydrogen, fluorine, and carbons, making potential for CFCs. CFCs | |
| 771619947 | Global dimming | A decline in the amount of light reaching the earth's surface because of increased air pollution, which reflects more light back into space. LESS LIGHT PENETRATION | |
| 771619948 | Dobson unit | Commonly used unit to measure the concentration of ozone. One unit is equivalent to a concentration of 1 ppb ozone. CONCENTRATION OF OZONE | |
| 771619949 | Coal gasification | The process behind the concept of "clean coal," and is designed to remove carbon dioxide from the emissions produced by burning coal and turn coal into liquid gas fuel. CLEAN OIL COAL | |
| 771619950 | Thermal inversion | A stable thermal structure in the atmosphere in which warm air overlies cool air. Over cities and industrial areas, inversions cause buildup of air pollution. CHANGE AIR TEMP. | |
| 771619951 | Terminator gene | Makes crops sterile; used for the prevention of Genetically Modified Crops from spreading, genetically modified crop that has a gene to cause the plant to become sterile after the first year. NO PRODUCE GENE | |
| 771619952 | Integrated Pest Management | A combination of pest control methods that, if used in the proper order and at the proper times, keep the size of a pest population low enough that it does not cause substantial economic loss. PEST CONTROL | |
| 771619953 | Silviculture | Branch of forestry dealing with the development and care of forests. FOREST CARE | |
| 771619954 | Gaia Hypothesis | 1970s James Lovelock; all systems on Earth form a unity that regulated by the organisms themselves. The whole planet can be regarded as a single, huge organism; interdependence. INTERDEPENDENCE-with species | |
| 771619955 | Cryptosporidium | Genus of protozoans that can cause gastrointestinal illness with diarrhea in humans. Cryptosporidium is the organism most commonly isolated in HIV-positive patients presenting with diarrhea. DIARRHEA CAUSE | |
| 771619956 | VOCs | Hydrocarbon solvents used in paints, stains and other products that are released into the air during the application of coatings and react with nitrous oxides and sunlight to form ozone. PAINTS-air pollution | |
| 771619957 | Methyl isocyanate | Colorless gas (used as pesticide) causes severe irritation (burns on contact), swelling of lungs, and death. EXTREME PESTICIDE | |
| 771619958 | Fallow | Land left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season. SWIDDEN | |
| 771619959 | Dioxin | One of the most toxic human-made chemicals. Stable, long-lived, by-product of herbicide production enters environment as fallout from the incineration of municipal and medical waste and persists for many years. Found throughout the world in the environment and they accumulate in the food chain, mainly in the fatty tissue of animals. LOVE CANAL | |
| 771619960 | Black Lung disease | Inflammation and fibrosis caused by accumulation of coal dust in the lungs or airways. COAL DUST DISEASE | |
| 771619961 | Chimney effect | The tendency of a gas or air to rise in a vertical shaft because its density is lower than that of the surrounding gas or air. It is also called stack effect. VERTICAL RISE- of gas | |
| 771619962 | Alpha particles | Positively charged particle emitted from certain radioactive nuclei; it consists of two protons and two neutrons and is identical to the nucleus of a helium atom. HELIUM ATOM- positive charge | |
| 771619963 | Beta particles | Negatively charged particle (an electron) emitted from the nucleus of an atom during radioactive decay. NEGATIVE CHARGED-emission | |
| 771619964 | Brine | Water saturated with salt. OCEAN | |
| 771619965 | Subsidence | Sudden collapse of something into a hollow beneath it. SINKHOLES | |
| 771619966 | Kwashiorkor | Form of malnutrition that results from a high-starch diet with inadequate protein or amino acids. Causes bloating of abdomen, deterioration and discoloration of hair, mental disability, etc. PROTEIN DEFICIENCY | |
| 771619967 | Fugitive sources (air pollution) | Emissions of gases or vapors from pressurized equipment due to leaks and other unintended or irregular releases of gases, mostly from industrial activities. LEAK SOURCES-from pressure | |
| 771619968 | Clear Skies Initiative | A George W. Bush administration initiative that aimed to abandon a command-and-control policy approach to air pollution and establish a market-based cap-and-trade program for sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and mercury. Legislation was stopped in 2005 by senators who concluded that it would increase pollution, relative to existing Clean Air Act policy. MARKET-BASED CAP POLLUTION | |
| 771619969 | Marginal cost | Change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced changes by one unit. That is, it is the cost of producing one more unit of a good. PRODUCTION OF GOOD-by one unit | |
| 771619970 | ANWR | Arctic National Wildlife Refuge - the largest refuge in the U.S. covering nearly 20 million acres in northeastern Alaska. It contains significant petroleum deposits, and there is a heated debate on whether to drill there or not. OIL DISPUTE | |
| 771619971 | Photovoltaics | Effect that occurs when light strikes one of a pair of metal plates in a photovoltaic cell, causing release of electrons, which are attracted by electrostatic forces to the opposing plate. Flow of electrons from one plate to the other creates an electrical current. | |
| 771619972 | Exosphere | The outer layer of the thermosphere, extending outward into space. EXOSKELETON | |
| 771619973 | Formaldehyde | Organic compound with the formula CH2O or HCHO. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal. Colorless gas and has a characteristic pungent, irritating odor. It is an important precursor to many other materials and chemical compounds. NAIL POLISH | |
| 771619974 | Population momentum | The effect of current age structure on future population growth. Young populations will continue growing even after replacement-level fertility has been reached, due to reproduction by already existing age groups. POPULATION PYRAMID-shape&effects | |
| 771619975 | Acid deposition | Sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides, emitted by burning fossil fuels, enter the atmosphere-where they combine with oxygen and water to form sulfuric acid and nitric acid-and return to Earth's surface. ACID LEACHING | |
| 771619976 | Sublimation | Change directly from the solid to the gaseous state without becoming liquid. SOLID TO GAS | |
| 771619977 | Maximum sustainable yield | The maximal harvest of a particular renewable natural resource that can be accomplished while still keeping the resource available for the future. KEEP AVAILABILITY | |
| 771619978 | Mitigation | The attempt to correct the problem. ALLEVIATE PROBLEM | |
| 771619979 | Biomass (for energy) | Energy harnessed from plant and animal matter, including wood from trees, charcoal from burned wood, and combustible animal waste products, such as cattle manure. BIO-ENERGY | |
| 771619980 | Anoxia | Severe hypoxia. BAD HYPOXIA | |
| 771619981 | Demographic transition | Theoretical model of economic and cultural change that explain declining death and birth rates that occurred in Western nations as the became industrialized. Model holds that industrialization caused rates to fall naturally by decreasing mortality and by lessening need for large families. 4 STAGES | |
| 771619982 | Bacillus thuringiensis | Naturally occurring soil bacterium that produces a protein tht kills many pests, including caterpillars and the larvae of some flies and beetles. BACTERIA ORGANIC PESTICIDE | |
| 771619983 | Geothermal power | Renewable energy generated deep within earth. Energy heats groundwater, natural eruptions of heated water and steam sent from below. EARTH CORE HEATING |
