Terms : Hide Images
| 136353315 | BOD | Biological Oxygen Demand/ Biochemical Oxygen Demand | |
| 136353316 | bottle law | law that gives cash back for the return of containers - the amount varies from state to state | |
| 136353317 | breeder reactor | a nuclear reaction in a specialized reactor that converts nonfissionable uranium-238 into fissionable plutonium-239, which in turn can be used as fuel | |
| 136353318 | broad-spectrum pesticide | chemical pesticides that kill many different kinds of pests, both the targeted (harmful) and nontargeted (beneficial) ones | |
| 136353319 | brownfields | abandoned, industrialized sites that are contaminated to the point that new development is curtailed | |
| 136353320 | BTU | acronym for British Thermal Limit - the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit | |
| 136353321 | capillary action | water that moves upward, against gravity, in soil by clinging together with its hydrogen bonds and powered by evaporation | |
| 136353322 | carbon dioxide | (CO2) a gas found in small quantities in the atmosphere and released by organisms, internal combustion, and volcanoes - it is a principle greenhouse gas | |
| 136353323 | carnivore | an organism that feeds on other animals | |
| 136353324 | carrying capacity | the maximum population of a given species that an ecosystem can support - populations often fluctuate above and below this due to migration, resource availabilty, competition, etc... | |
| 136353325 | castings | humus-rich pellets made as a result of earthworm activity | |
| 136353326 | catalyst | a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without being involved or changed by the reaction (i.e. enzymes in organisms) | |
| 136353327 | canalization/canalized | the straightening and deepening of stream or river channels to speed up water flow and to reduce flooding | |
| 136353328 | chlorinated hydrocarbons | also called organochlorides - synthetic organic molecules in which one or more hydrogen atoms have been replaced by chlorine atoms. Extremely hazardous because they are usually nonbiodegradable and tend to biomagnify - can also cause cancer | |
| 136353329 | chlorination | a disinfection process by which chlorine is added to drinking water or sewage effluent in order to kill bacteria | |
| 136353330 | chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) | synthetic organic molecules that contain one or more of both chlorine and fluorine atoms - are implicated in ozone destruction | |
| 136353331 | clear cutting | cutting of all trees in an area, leaving NOTHING standing - may lead to severe erosion | |
| 136353332 | climate | pertains to all historical data, temperature, and rainfall gathered over a long period of time | |
| 136353333 | climax ecosystem | the last stage in ecological succession - stable and unchanging ecosystem, unless acted upon by fire, storms, disease, or human activity | |
| 136353334 | cogeneration | when both useful heat and electricity are produced through the process of making electricity | |
| 136353335 | combined-cycle natural gas unit | a process of generating electricity using a natural gas turbine and a steam engine - excess heat produced from running the gas turbine is used to run the steam turbine | |
| 136353336 | commensalism | a relationship between two organisms in which one benefits and the other is unaffected | |
| 136353337 | common pool resources | aka "commons", they are natural resources owned by many people, such as a state park or federal rangeland - also refers to resources noone owns, like the ocean or the atmosphere | |
| 136353338 | competitive exclusion principle | occurs when two species compete for the same resource - one will prevail and the other is excluded from the vicinity | |
| 136353339 | compost | the recycling of organic household waste products, like leaves, food, etc... into useable plant fertilizer | |
| 136353340 | cone of depression | the lowering of the water table in the vicinity of a well | |
| 136353341 | conservation | the management of a resource to make certain that it provides the greatest benefit to humans in the future | |
| 136353342 | consumers | any organism in an ecosystem that does not make its own food - all animals other than autotrophs or chemotrophs | |
| 136353343 | consumptive use | producing just enough resources to provide for the present needs - opposite of overproducing |
