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4334773430Chloroflourocarbonschem) any of various gaseous compounds of carbon, hydrogen, chlorine, and fluorine, used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, solvents, and in foam: some cause a breakdown of ozone in the earth's atmosphere CFC.0
4334786044Bituminousany of various viscous or solid impure mixtures of hydrocarbons that occur naturally in asphalt, tar, mineral waxes, etc: used as a road surfacing and roofing material. 2. the constituents of coal that can be extracted by an organic solvent. 3.1
4334794542Lignitea soft coal, usually dark brown, often having a distinct woodlike texture, and intermediate in density and carbon content between peat and bituminous coal. O2
4334802517Frakking..Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.3
4334819894Photovoltaic cellsA photovoltaic cell (PV cell) is a specialized semiconductor diode that converts visible light into direct current (DC). Some PV cells can also convert infrared (IR) or ultraviolet (UV) radiation into DC electricity.4
4334830200Primary pollutantsA primary pollutant is an air pollutant emitted directly from a source. A secondary pollutant is not directly emitted as such, but forms when other pollutants (primary pollutants) react in the atmosphere.5
4334837607Temperature inversionstemperature inversion, condition in which the temperature of the atmosphere increases with altitude in contrast to the normal decrease with altitude. When temperature inversion occurs, cold air underlies warmer air at higher altitudes.6
4334846427Radoncolorless, odorless, radioactive element in the noble gas group. It is produced by the radioactive decay of radium and occurs in minute amounts in soil, rocks, and the air near the ground. Radon is used as a source of radiation for the treatment of cancer and other diseases.7
4335533358Tragedy of the commonsThe tragedy of the commons is an economic theory of a situation within a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently and rationally according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting that resource.8
4335541406GMOsgenetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans.9
4335550612Industrial agricultureIntensive farming or intensive agriculture also known as industrial agriculture is characterized by a low fallow ratio and higher use of inputs such as capital and labour per unit land area. This is in contrast to traditional agriculture in which the inputs per unit land are lower.10
4335558435MonocultureMonoculture is the agricultural practice of producing or growing a single crop, plant, or livestock species, variety, or breed in a field or farming system at a time. Polyculture, where more than one crop is grown in the same space at the same time, is the alternative to monoculture.11
4335571777Contour plowingContour ploughing or contour farming or Contour bunding is the farming practice of plowing and/or planting across a slope following its elevation contour lines.12
4335580184Terracingmake or form (sloping land) into a number of level flat areas resembling a series of steps.13
4335593067Shelterbeltsa line of trees or shrubs planted to protect an area, especially a farm field, from strong winds and the erosion they cause.14
4335615978Irrigation salinizationIrrigation salinity is the rise in saline groundwater and the build up of salt in the soil surface in irrigated areas. Inefficient irrigation or applying more water than the plants can use means that this excess water leaks past the root zone to groundwater (recharge). This excess water can cause the watertable to 'mound' under irrigation areas and in some cases the ground becomes waterlogged.15
4335626697Overgrazingoccurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature reserves16
4335634827Over-nourishedOvernourished definition, to sustain with food or nutriment; supply with what is necessary for life, health, and growth.17
4335645706Green revolutionThe Green Revolution refers to a set of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives occurring between the 1930s and the late 1960s (with prequels in the work of the agrarian geneticist Nazareno Strampelli in the 1920s and 1930s), that increased agricultural production worldwide,18
4335654965Fishing down the chainthe process whereby fisheries in a given ecosystem, "having depleted the large predatory fish on top of the food web, turn to increasingly smaller species, finally ending up with previously spurned small fish and invertebrate19
4335664099Seed banksstores seeds as a source for planting in case seed reserves elsewhere are destroyed. It is a type of gene bank. The seeds stored may be food crops, or those of rare species to protect biodiversity20
4335684606Maximum sustainable yieldpopulation ecology and economics, maximum sustainable yield or MSY is theoretically, the largest yield (or catch) that can be taken from a species' stock over an indefinite period21
4335700144Primary forestforests of native tree species, where there are no clearly visible indications of human activities and the ecological processes are not significantly disturbed. Secondary forests regenerate on native forests, which have been cleared by natural or man made causes, such as agriculture or ranching.22
4336588081Urban growth boundaryAn urban growth boundary, or UGB, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for higher density urban development and the area outside be used for lower density development23
4336588082Resource sinkAn urban area has no natural resources of its own since it has been developed.24
4336590518Silent spring..Silent Spring is a 1962 environmental science book by Rachel Carson. The book documented the detrimental effects on the environment—particularly on birds—of the indiscriminate use of pesticides.25
4336592569By-catch..Bycatch, in the fishing industry, is a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish, crabs etc. Bycatch is either of a different species, the wrong sex, or is undersized or juvenile individuals of the target species.26
4336592570Wet scrubber..The term wet scrubber describes a variety of devices that remove pollutants from a furnace flue gas or from other gas streams.27
4336594950Proxy indicators..Proxy indicator. DEFINITION: A variable used to stand in for one that is difficult to measure directly. COMMENT: Cost, complexity and/or the timeliness of data collection may prevent a result from being measured directly.28
4336597086Mitigation.the effort to reduce loss of life and property by lessening the impact of disasters. In order for mitigation to be effective we need to take action now—before the next disaster—to reduce human and financial consequences later (analyzing risk, reducing risk, and insuring against risk)..29
4336597087Carbon offsetA carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere..30
4336603549Secondary extraction31
4336603550Cogeneration.Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time..32
4336605658Breeder reactors..breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that creates more fissile material than it consumes. It requires an initial charge of fissile material, such as highly enriched uranium or plutonium, and a supply of fertile material, such as natural uranium, depleted uranium or thorium.33
4336605659Chernobyl.The Chernobyl disaster (also referred to as the Chernobyl accident or simply Chernobyl) was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Pripyat, then located in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive particles into the atmosphere, which spread over much of the western USSR and Europe..34
4336607831Passive solar..In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer.35
4336610369Waste streamThe total flow of solid waste from homes, businesses, institutions, and manufacturing plants that is recycled, burned, or disposed of in landfills, or segments thereof such as the "residential waste stream" or the "recyclable waste stream."36
4336610370Product life cycleThe product life cycle is an important concept in marketing. It describes the stages a product goes through from when it was first thought of until it finally is removed from the market. Not all products reach this final stage.37
4336613192Surface impoundmentA lagoon or pond designed to hold waste materials and prevent their escape to the environment.38
4336617355Greenhouse effectThe greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet's atmosphere warms the planet's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere. If a planet's atmosphere contains radiatively active gases (i.e., greenhouse gases) the atmosphere will radiate energy in all directions.39
4336618853GlobalwarmingGlobal warming is the term used to describe a gradual increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and its oceans, a change that is believed to be permanently changing the Earth's climate.40
4336620990Tropospheric ozoneThe majority of tropospheric ozone formation occurs when nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as xylene, react in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight.41
4336623550Stratospheric ozone depletionOzone depletion describes two distinct but related phenomena observed since the late 1970s: a steady decline of about 4% in the total amount of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer), and a much larger springtime decrease in stratospheric ozone around Earth's polar regions.42
4336625185SustainabilityIn more general terms, sustainability is the endurance of systems and processes. The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development, which includes the four interconnected domains: ecology, economics, politics and culture.43
4336625186Cap and tradeCap and trade is the most environmentally and economically sensible approach to controlling greenhouse gas emissions, the primary driver of global warming. The "cap" sets a limit on emissions, which is lowered over time to reduce the amount of pollutants released into the atmosphere.44
4336627269TeratogensAny agent that can disturb the development of an embryo or fetus. Teratogens may cause a birth defect in the child. Or a teratogen may halt the pregnancy outright. The classes of teratogens include radiation, maternal infections, chemicals, and drugs.45
4336627270SuperfundSuperfund or Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) is a United States federal law designed to clean up sites contaminated with hazardous substances and pollutants.46
4336629654Sanitary landfillSanitary landfills are sites where waste is isolated from the environment until it is safe. It is considered when it has completely degraded biologically, chemically and physically.47
4339938139Safe drinking water actThe Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the principal federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public.[3] Pursuant to the act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is required to set standards for drinking water quality and oversee all states, localities, and water suppliers who implement these standards.48
4339941288Municipal solid wasteMunicipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and as refuse or rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public.49
4339942901Deep well injectionAn injection well is a device that places fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer. The fluid may be water, wastewater, brine (salt water), or water mixed with chemical50
4339946820Cultural eutrophicationCultural eutrophication is a form of water pollution. Cultural eutrophication also occurs when excessive fertilizers run into lakes and rivers. This encourages the growth of algae (algal bloom) and other aquatic plants.51
4340083803Secondary water treatmenta treatment process for wastewater (or sewage) to achieve a certain degree of effluent quality by using a sewage treatment plant with physical phase separation to remove settleable solids and a biological process to remove dissolved and suspended organic compounds.52
4340086269Primary water treatmentPrimary treatment consists of temporarily holding the sewage in a quiescent basin where heavy solids can settle to the bottom while oil, grease and lighter solids float to the surface. The settled and floating materials are removed and the remaining liquid may be discharged or subjected to secondary treatment.53
4340088022Thermal pollutionis the degradation of water quality by any process that changes ambient water temperature. A common cause of thermal pollution is the use of water as a coolant by power plants and industrial manufacturers.54
4340093152Clean water act- "Clean Water Act" became the Act's common name with amendments in 1972. Under the CWA, EPA has implemented pollution control programs such as setting wastewater standards for industry. We have also set water quality standards for all contaminants in surface waters.55
4340095002Clean air act 1990The Clean Air Act, originally passed in 1973 and amended in 1990, is a United States federal law designed to protect human health and the environment from the effects of air pollution.56
4340098471Noise pollutioncan cause hypertension, high stress levels, tinnitus, hearing loss, sleep disturbances, and other harmful effects. Reaction to noise. Sound becomes unwanted when it either interferes with normal activities such as sleeping, conversation, or disrupts or diminishes one's quality of life.57
4340100610Montreal protocolThe Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.58
4340102553Kyoto protocolan international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) man-made CO2 emissions have caused it.59
4340109855Indoor air pollutionRefers to the air quality within and around buildings and structures, especially as it relates to the health and comfort of building occupants. Understanding and controlling common pollutants indoors can help reduce your risk of indoor health concerns.60

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