Download Glossary of Environmental Science Terms and more Quizzes Geography in PDF only on Docsity!
population
amount of people living in a given area TERM 2
poverty
DEFINITION 2 a condition in which people are unable to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, shelter, education or health TERM 3
moderately developed countries
DEFINITION 3 countries with medium levels of industry and per person income TERM 4
people overpopulation
DEFINITION 4 a situation in which there are too many people in an area TERM 5
consumption overpopulation
DEFINITION 5 a situation in which each individual in a population consumes too large of the share of resources
sustainability
the ability to meet humanities current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs TERM 7
environmental science
DEFINITION 7 the interdisciplinary study of humanities relationships with other organisms and the physical environment TERM 8
scientific method
DEFINITION 8 the way a scientist approaches a problem by formulating a hypothesis and then testing it TERM 9
sustainable development
DEFINITION 9 economic growth that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs TERM 10
environmental ethics
DEFINITION 10 a field of applied ethics that considers the moral basis of environmental responsibility
toxicants
chemicals with adverse effects TERM 17
toxicology
DEFINITION 17 the study of toxicants, chemicals with adverse effects on health TERM 18
epidemiology
DEFINITION 18 the study of effects of cemical, biological and physical agents on the health of human populations TERM 19
DDT
DEFINITION 19 pesticide that negatively affected the shells of birds eggs TERM 20
dose/response
DEFINITION 20 in toxicology a graph that shows the effects of different doses on a population of test organisms
precautionary principle
the idea that new technologies, practices, or materials should not be adopted until there is strong evidence that they will not adversely affect human or environmental health TERM 22
population ecology
DEFINITION 22 the branch of biology that deals with the number of individuals of a particular species found in an area and why those numbers increase or decrease over time TERM 23
carrying capacity
DEFINITION 23 the largest population a particular environment can support sustainability if there are no changes in that environment TERM 24
demographics
DEFINITION 24 the applied branch of sociology that deals with population statistics TERM 25
urbanization
DEFINITION 25 a process whereby people move from rural areas to densely populated cities
climate
typical weather patters that occur in a place over the period of a year TERM 32
greenhouse effect
DEFINITION 32 atmospheric warming produced as human activities increase atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gas TERM 33
ozone depletion
DEFINITION 33 the removal of ozone from the stratosphere by human produced chemicals or natural processes TERM 34
acid deposition
DEFINITION 34 a type of air pollution that includes sulfuric and nitric acids in precipitation as well as dry acid particles that settle out of the air TERM 35
hydrologic cycle
DEFINITION 35 water continuously circulates through the environment from the ocean to the atmosphere and to the land and back to the ocean
watersheds
area of land drained by a single river or stream, also known as a drainage basin TERM 37
water pollution
DEFINITION 37 physical or chemical change in water that adversely affects the health of humans and other organisms TERM 38
point source
pollution
DEFINITION 38 water pollution that can be traced to a specific spot TERM 39
non-point source
pollution
DEFINITION 39 pollution that enters bodies of water over a large area rather than being concentrated at a single point of entry TERM 40
food
insecurity
DEFINITION 40 condition in which people live with chronic hunger and malnutrition
non municipal solid waste
solid waste generated by industry agriculture and mining TERM 47
landfills
DEFINITION 47 the most common disposal site for solid waste where waste is compacted and buried under shallow layer or soil TERM 48
incineration
DEFINITION 48 large furnace that burns all solid waste except for unburnable items such as refrigerators TERM 49
composting
DEFINITION 49 yard waste such as grass branches leaves that get put together to sit over time eventually turn Into an organic mulch TERM 50
source reduction
DEFINITION 50 an aspect of waste management in which products are designed and manufactured in ways that decrease the amount of solid waste in the solid waste stream
integrated waste management
a combination of the best waste management techniques into a consolidated program to deal effectively with solid waste TERM 52
hazardous waste
DEFINITION 52 a discarded chemical that threatens human health or the environment TERM 53
surface mining
DEFINITION 53 the extravtion of mineral and energy resources near earths surface by first removing the soil, subsoil, and overlying rock stratA TERM 54
subsurface mining
DEFINITION 54 the extraction of mineral and energy resources from deep underground deposits TERM 55
mountaintop
removal
DEFINITION 55 removing the peak of a mountain to extract mineral and energy resources
hydro
power
a form of renewable energy that relies on flowing or falling water to generate electricity TERM 62
wind
power
DEFINITION 62 electric energy obtained from surface air currents caused by the solar warming of air TERM 63
fuel cells
DEFINITION 63 a device that directly converts chemical energy into electricity, a fuel cell requires hydrogen and oxygen from the air TERM 64
biomass
DEFINITION 64 plant and animal material used for fuel TERM 65
energy conservation
DEFINITION 65 using less energy by reducing energy use and waste
energy efficiency
using less energy to accomplish a given task by using new technology
