Terms : Hide Images
| loss of diversity through a failure to produce nwe species | ||
| ocean girdling zone of crustal instability volcanism and earthquakes resulting from the tectonic activity along plate boundaries in the region | ||
| most recent epoch of the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, beginning about 1.8 million years ago and marked by as many as 20 glaciations and interglaciations of which the current warm phase, the Holocene epoch, has witnessed the rise of human civilization | ||
| period of global cooling during which continental ice sheets and mountain glaciers expand | ||
| sustained warming phase between glaciations during an ice age | ||
| the most recent glacial period of the Pleistocene, enduring about 100,000 years and giving way, beginning about 18,000 years ago to the current interglacial the Holocene | ||
| current interglaciation period extending from 10,000 years ago to the present on the geologic time scale | ||
| temporary but significant cooling period between the fourteenth and the nineteenth centuries accompanied by wide temperature fluctuations droughs and storms causing famines and dislocation | ||
| system of exchange involving water in its various forms as it continually circulates among the atmosphere the oceans and above and below the land surface | ||
| cycle whereby natural processes and human activity consume atmopsheric oxygen and produce carbon dioxide and produce carbon dioxide and the earths forests and other flora through photosynthesis | ||
| non liquid non soluble materials ranging from municipal grabage to sewage sludge agricultural refuse and mining residues | ||
| disposal sites for non hazardous solid waste that is spread in layers and compacted to the smallest practical volume | ||
| hazardous waste causing danger from chemicals and infectious organisms | ||
| hazardous waste emitting radiation from nuclear power plants nuclear weapons factories and nuclear equipment in hospitals and industry | ||
| first international convention aimed at addressing the issue of ozone depletion. Held in 1985 it was the predecessor to the Montreal Protocol | ||
| international agreement signed in 1987 by 105 countries and the EU. The protocol called for a reduction in the production and consumption of CFC's of 50 percent by 2000. Subsequent meetings in London and Copenhagen accelerated the timing of CFC phaseout and a worldwide complete ban has been in effect since 1996 |
