Terms : Hide Images
| 962037309 | ecosystem | A community of interdependent organisms and the physical environment they inhabit. | |
| 962037310 | biotic | All the living organisms that inhabit an environment. | |
| 962037311 | abiotic | Include all the non-living things in an ecosystem (example: light, temperature, and soil composition). | |
| 962037312 | ecosystem servies | all processes through which natural ecosystems help sustain human life. | |
| 962037313 | environmental indicators | Describe the current state of an environmental system | |
| 962037314 | sustainability | Being able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. | |
| 962037315 | genetic diversity | the amount of variation in the genetic material within all members of a population | |
| 962037316 | species diversity | The number and relative abundance of species in a biological community. | |
| 962037317 | ecosystem diversity | The variety of Ecosystems within a given region | |
| 962037318 | speciation | Formation of a new species | |
| 962037319 | anthropogenic | Caused or produced by humans | |
| 962037320 | development | Improvement in human well-being through economic advancement | |
| 962037321 | biophilia | Love of life | |
| 962037322 | ecological footprint | A way of measuring how much of an impact a person or community has on the earth. | |
| 962037323 | environmental justice | A social movement and field of study that focuses on equal enforcement of environmental laws and eliminating disparities in the exposure of environmental harms to different ethnic and socioeconomic groups within a society. | |
| 962105385 | acid | A substance that increases the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution. | |
| 962105386 | base | A substance that decreases the hydrogen ion concentration in a solution. | |
| 962105387 | pH | (logarithmic) measure of acidity or basicity of aqueous solution | |
| 962105388 | first law of thermodynamics | Energy is neither created nor destroyed, but may be converted from one form to another | |
| 962105389 | second law of thermodynamics | When two bodies at different temperatures are placed in contact with each other, heat will flow from the warmer body to the cooler body until a final equilibrium temperature is reached. | |
| 962105390 | energy quality | A measure of an energy's source's ability to do useful work. | |
| 962105391 | open system | A system that allows for the exchange of energy and matter across its boundaries. | |
| 962105392 | closed system | A system in which no matter is allowed to enter or leave | |
| 962105393 | negative feedback loop | A feedback loop in which a system responds to a change by returning to its original state, or by decreasing the rate at which the change is occurring | |
| 962105394 | positive feedback loop | A feedback loop in which change in a system is amplified. | |
| 962105395 | CFC's | Chlorofluorocarbons; contributes to ozone destruction and greenhouse gases | |
| 962105396 | GDP | Gross Domestic Product - the total market value of all final goods and services produced annually in an economy | |
| 962105397 | GPI | GPI: Genuine Progress Indicator= GDP + Benefits not included in market transactions (ie volunteering) - harmful environmental and social costs | |
| 962105398 | Kuznets Curve | model that suggests that as per capita income in a country increases, environmental degradation first increases and then decreases | |
| 962105399 | microlending | The process of providing very small loans (usually $50-$500) to poor people to facilitate their starting a small enterprise and becoming economically self-sufficient. | |
| 962105400 | natural capital | Natural resources and natural services that keep us and other species alive and support our economies | |
| 962128678 | human capital | People's capacity for labor and their individual knowledge and skills. | |
| 962128679 | manufactured capital | all goods and services that humans produce | |
| 962128680 | environmental worldview | a set of assumptions and values reflecting how you think the world works and what you think your role in the world should be | |
| 962128681 | anthropocentric | treating humans as preeminent: regarding humans as the universe's most important entity | |
| 962128682 | biocentric | Life centered, a theory of moral responsibility that states that all forms of life have an inherent right to exist. | |
| 962128683 | ecocentric | a worldview that places equal value on all living organisms and the ecosystems in which they live | |
| 962128684 | stewardship | A philosophy that holds that humans have a unique responsibility to manage, care for, and improve nature. | |
| 962128685 | precautionary principle | When a threat is of serious environmental damage, we should not wait for scientific proof before taking action. | |
| 962128686 | UN | United Nations - An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security | |
| 962128687 | World Bank | United Nations - agency created to assist developing nations by loans guaranteed by member governments | |
| 962128688 | WHO | World Health Organization - United Nations agency to coordinate international health activities and to help governments improve health services | |
| 962128689 | EPA | Environmental Protection Agency - independent federal agency established to coordinate programs aimed at reducing pollution and protecting the environment | |
| 962128690 | OSHA | Occupational Safety and Health Administration - insures that employees do not suffer harm from occupational exposure | |
| 962169714 | Department of Energy | Department of Energy - Directs overall energy plan for the nation | |
| 962169715 | autotrophs | Organisms that are able to make their own food | |
| 962169716 | heterotrophs | An organism that gets its energy (organic food molecules) by consuming other organisms. | |
| 962169717 | photosynthesis | Plants use the sun's energy to convert water and carbon dioxide into sugars | |
| 962169718 | cellular respiration | Plants convert glucose and oxygen into energy | |
| 962169719 | trophic levels | Each step in a food chain or food web. | |
| 962169720 | food web | A diagram that shows the feeding relationships between organisms in an ecosystem. | |
| 962169721 | scavengers | Carnivores that consume dead animals | |
| 962169722 | detritivores | Decomposers - get their energy from the cells and tissues of dead organisms | |
| 962169723 | GPP | gross primary productivity, total amount of energy that the plants in an ecosystem fix | |
| 962169724 | NPP | Net Primary Production = GPP - cellular respiration | |
| 962169725 | biomass | the total mass of living matter in a given area | |
| 962169726 | standing crop | the amount of biomass present in an ecosystem at a particular time | |
| 962169727 | ecological efficiency | the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another | |
| 962169728 | trophic pyramid | representation of distribution of biomass/energy among trophic levels | |
| 962169729 | biogeochemical cycles | Cycles of matter that involve biological, geological, and chemical interactions | |
| 962169730 | hydrologic cycle | The cycle through which water in the hydrosphere moves | |
| 962169731 | transpiration | Evaporation of water from plants | |
| 962169732 | evapotranspiration | Combination of evaporation and transpiration | |
| 962169733 | runoff | water that flows over the ground surface rather than soaking into the ground | |
| 962169734 | macronutrients | Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins, which are necessary for building and maintaining body tissues and providing energy for daily activities | |
| 962169735 | limiting nutrient | Single essential nutrient that limits productivity in an ecosystem | |
| 962169736 | nitrogen fixation | Process of converting nitrogen gas into ammonia | |
| 962169737 | denitrification | Conversion of nitrate or nitrite to nitrogen gas by bacteria in soil. | |
| 962236027 | assimilation | Assimilation is the process by which plants and animals incorporate the nitrate and ammonia formed through nitrogen fixation and nitrification | |
| 962236028 | leaching | Downward movement of materials in soil | |
| 962236029 | watershed | An ecosystem where all water runoff drains into a single body of water | |
| 962236030 | resistance | measure of how much a disturbance can affect the flows of energy and matter | |
| 962236031 | resilience | rate at which an ecosystem returns to its original state after a disturbance | |
| 962236032 | instrumental value | Something that has worth as an instrument or a tool that can be used to accomplish a goal | |
| 962236033 | intrinsic value | something that has worth independent of any benefit it may provide to humans | |
| 962236034 | provisions | goods that humans can use directly | |
| 962236035 | troposphere | layer of atmosphere closest to Earth where weather occurs | |
| 962236036 | stratosphere | 2nd layer of atmosphere where ozone layer is located | |
| 962236037 | albedo | Percent of sunlight reflected by a surface | |
| 962236038 | adiabatic heating | When air sinks towards earth's surface, the pressure on it increases. The higher pressure forces the air to decrease in volume, and this decrease raises the temperature of the air. | |
| 962236039 | adiabatic cooling | The cooling effect of reduced pressure on air as it rises higher in the atmosphere and expands. | |
| 962236040 | latent heat release | The release of energy when water vapor in the atmosphere condenses into liquid water. | |
| 962236041 | Hadley cells | convection current in the atmosphere that cycles between the equator and 30° N and 30° S. | |
| 962236042 | polar cells | convection cell in the atmosphere, formed by air that rises at 60° N and 60° S and sinks at the poles | |
| 962236043 | ITCZ | Intertropical Convergence Zone - Area of Earth that receives the most intense sunlight, where the ascending branches of the 2 Hadley cells converge. | |
| 962236044 | Coriolis Effect | Deflection of an object's path due to Earth's rotation | |
| 962236045 | gyres | Giant circular ocean currents | |
| 962236046 | upwelling | Is the rising of cold water from deeper layers to replace warmer surface water. | |
| 962263053 | thermohaline circulation | an oceanic circulation pattern that drives the mixing of surface water and deep water | |
| 962263054 | ENSO | El Nino Southern Oscillation - trade winds weaken & warm surface water moves toward South America | |
| 962263055 | rain shadow | A drier area on the leeward side of a mountain range | |
| 962263056 | biomes | A large geographic area that depends on climate and soil type | |
| 962263057 | permafrost | Layer of permanently frozen subsoil in the tundra | |
| 962263058 | tundra | A cold, dry region where trees cannot grow. | |
| 962263059 | boreal forest | A forest made up of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons. | |
| 962263060 | chaparral | Shrubland with plants adopted to drought and fire | |
| 962263061 | benthic zone | bottom of an aquatic ecosystem | |
| 962263062 | coral bleaching | A phenomenon in which algae inside corals die, causing the corals to turn white. | |
| 962263063 | photic zone | The portion of an aquatic ecosystem that is shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate | |
| 962263064 | aphotic zone | Dark layer of the oceans below the photic zone where sunlight does not penetrate. | |
| 962263065 | chemosynthesis | Process by which chemical energy is used to produce carbohydrates |
