Environmental

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anthropogenic

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derived from human activities

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sustainable develpoment

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development that balances current human well-being and economic advancement with resource management for the benefit of future generations

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ecological footprint

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a measure of how much an individual consumes, expressed in area of land

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Kuznet's curve

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relationship between home income and resources used by the inhabitants

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leapfrogging

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the situation in which less developed countries use newer technology without first using the precursor technology

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natural capital

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the natural resources of earth, such as air, water and minerals

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population

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individuals that belong to the same species and live in a given area at a given time

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community

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all of the populations of organisms in a given area

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ecosystem

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a particular location on earth distinguished by its mix of interacting biotic and abiotic components

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Trophic Level

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levels in the feeding structure of organisms

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detritivore

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an organism that specializes in breaking down dead tissues and waste products into smaller particles

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Gross Primary Productivity

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the total amount of solar energy that producers in an ecosystem capture via photosynthesis over a given amount of time

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Net Pirmary Productivity

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the energy captured by producers in an ecosystem minus the energy producers respire

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biomass

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the total mass of all living matter in a specific area

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ecological efficiency

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the proportion of consumed energy that can be passed from one trophic level to another

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keystone species

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a species that is far more important in its community than it relative abundance may suggest

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ecosystem engineer

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a keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for other species

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bioaccumulation

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an increased concentration of a chemical within an organism over time

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r-selected species

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a species that has a high intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population overshoots and dies off

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k-selected species

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a species that has a low intrinsic growth rate, which often leads to population increase slowly until it reaches carrying capacity

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survivorship curves

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a graph that represents the distinct patterns of species survival as a function of age

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type 1 survivorship

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a convex curve, most individuals live to adulthood with mortality occurring during old age

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type 2 survivorship

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a straight line, an individuals chance of dying is independent of its age

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type3 survivorship

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a concave curve, few individuals live to adulthood, with chance of dying decreasing with age

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runoff

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water that moves across the land surface and into streams and rivers

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limiting nutrient

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a nutrient required for the growth of an organism but available in a lower quality than other nutrients

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mutualism

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an interaction between species that increases the chance of survival or reproduction for both species

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commensalism

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a relationship between species in which one species benefits an the other species is neither helped nor harmed

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carrying capacity

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the limit of how many individuals in a population the food supply can sustain

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exponential growth curve

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a growth curve that estimates a populations future size after a period of time based on the intrinsic growth rate and the number of reproducing individuals currently in the population

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logistic growth curve

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a growth curve that describes a population whose growth is initially exponential but slows as the population approaches the carrying capacity of the environment

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metapopulation

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a group of spatially distinct populations that are connected by occasional movements of individuals between them

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corridor

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a strip of natural habitat that connects separated populations

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anthropocene

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is an informal geologic chronological term for the proposed epoch that began when human activities had a significant global impact on the Earth's ecosystems

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endangered species act

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a 1973 U.S. act that implements CITES, designed to protect species from extinction

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instrumental value

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is the value of objects, both physical objects and abstract objects, not as ends-in-themselves, but as means of achieving something else

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intrinsic value

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The actual value of a company or an asset based on an underlying perception of its true value including all aspects of the business, in terms of both tangible and intangible factors

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species richness

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the number of species in a given area

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species evenness

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the relative proportion of different species in a given area

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littoral zone

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the shallow zone of soil and water in lakes and ponds where most algae and emergent plants grow

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intertidal zone

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the narrow band of coast line between the levels of high tide and low tide

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photic zone

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the upper layer of water in the ocean that receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis

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aphotic zone

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the layer of ocean water that lacks sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis

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sequester

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to absorb and take in

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positive feedback loop

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is a process that occurs in a feedback loop in which the effects of a small disturbance on a system include an increase in the magnitude of the perturbation

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negative feedback loop

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the system controls how much product it makes by shutting down manufacturing when levels of output or the amount of accumulated product gets too high

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Kyoto Protocol

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an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits its Parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets

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Crude Birth Rate

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births per 1000 people

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Crude Death Rate

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deaths per 1000 people

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Total Fertility Rate

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average number of children born to each women

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Infant Mortality

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number of infant births per 1000 babies

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Child Mortality

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number of child births per 1000 children

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Gross Domestic Product

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The monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's borders in a specific time period, though GDP is usually calculated on an annual basis

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Food insecurity

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food security "exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life".

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Energy Subsidy

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are measures that keep prices for consumers below market levels or for producers above market levels, or reduce costs for consumers and producers.

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Monocropping

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is the agricultural practice of growing a single crop year after year on the same land, in the absence of rotation through other crops or growing multiple crops on the same land (polyculture). Corn, soybeans, and wheat are three common crops often grown using monocropping techniques.

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Persistant vs Nonpersistant Pesticides

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The terms persistent and non-persistent refer to how long a pesticide stays in the environment. Non-persistent pesticides break down in the environment more quickly than persistent pesticides. Persistent pesticides have a greater potential to accumulate in organisms. When a pesticide bioaccumulates, predator animals higher on the food chain accumulate more pesticides in their body. This happens because more of their food and water sources also contain the persistent chemical.

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Desertification

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is a type of land degradation in which a relatively dry land region becomes increasingly arid, typically losing its bodies of water as well as vegetation and wildlife. It is caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities.

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Intercropping

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grow (a crop) among plants of a different kind, usually in the space between rows.

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Crop Rotation

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the practice of growing different crops in succession on the same land chiefly to preserve the productive capacity of the soil

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Agroforestry

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is a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland. It combines agricultural and forestry technologies to create more diverse, productive, profitable, healthy, and sustainable land-use systems.

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No-till agriculture

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a way of growing crops or pasture from year to year without disturbing the soilthrough tillage. No-till is an agricultural technique which increases the amount of water that infiltrates into the soil and increases organic matter retention and cycling of nutrients in the soil

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Integrated Pest Management

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also known as Integrated Pest Control (IPC) is a broad-based approach that integrates practices for economic control of pests. IPM aims to suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL).

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Organic Agriculture

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a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, green manure, compost, and biological pest control

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CAFO

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Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation, is an industrial-sized livestock operation. The quantity of urine and feces from even the smallest CAFO is equivalent to the urine and feces produced by 16,000 humans. A CAFO can house anywhere from hundreds to millions of animals

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Bycatch

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a fish or other marine species that is caught unintentionally while catching certain target species and target sizes of fish, crabs

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Aquaculture

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also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants.

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Lithosphere

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outermost shell of a rocky planet, and can be identified on the basis of its mechanical properties

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Divergent Plate Boundary

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a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.

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Convergent Plate Boundary

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also known as a destructive plate boundary (because of subduction), is an actively deforming region where two (or more) tectonic plates or fragments of the lithosphere move toward one another and collide

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Transform Fault Boundary

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also known as conservative plate boundary since these faults neither create nor destroy lithosphere, is a type of fault whose relative motion is predominantly horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction

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Igneous Rock

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Igneous rock (derived from the Latin word ignis meaning fire) is one of the three main rocktypes, the others being sedimentary and metamorphic. Igneous rock is formed through the cooling and solidification of magma or lava

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Sedimentary Rock

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are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the Earth's surface and within bodies of water. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause mineral and/or organic particles (detritus) to settle and accumulate or minerals to precipitate from a solution.

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Metamorphic Rock

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is a result of a transformation of a pre-existing rock. The original rock is subjected to very high heat and pressure, which cause obvious physical and/or chemical changes. Examples of these rock types include marble, slate, gneiss, schist.

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Clean Air Act

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is a United States federal law designed to control air pollution on a national level. It requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop and enforce regulations to protect the public from airborne contaminants known to be hazardous to human health.

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Photochemical Smog

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as found for example in Los Angeles, is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion enginesand industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine with the primary emissions to form photochemical smog

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Sulfurous Smog

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At least two distinct types of smog are recognized: sulfurous smog and photochemical smog. Sulfurous smog, which is also called “London smog,” results from a high concentration of sulfur oxides in the air and is caused by the use of sulfur-bearing fossil fuels, particularly coal. This type of smog is aggravated by dampness and a high concentration of suspended particulate matter in...

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Primary Pollutant

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injected into the atmosphere directly.

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Secondary Pollutant

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primary pollutant that undergoes a transformation based on exposure to sun, oxygen, and atmosphere

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Nonrenewable Energy

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A resource of economic value that cannot be readily replaced by natural means on a level equal to its consumption. Most fossil fuels, such as oil, natural gas and coal are considered nonrenewable resources in that their use is not sustainable because their formation takes billions of years.

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Renewable Energy

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energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power.

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Electrical Grid

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An electric grid is a network of synchronized power providers and consumers that are connected by transmission and distribution lines and operated by one or more control centers.

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Cogeneration

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the generation of electricity and other energy jointly, especially the utilization of the steam left over from electricity generation to produce heat.

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Peak Oil

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the hypothetical point in time when the global production of oil reaches its maximum rate, after which production will gradually decline.

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Peak Demand

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used to refer to a historically high point in the sales record of a particular product. In terms of energy use, peak demanddescribes a period of simultaneous, strong consumer demand or a period of highest demand in a billing period.

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Smart Grid

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a modernized electrical gridthat uses analog or digital information and communications technology to gather and act on information - such as information about the behaviours of suppliers and consumers - in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the r

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Carbon Neutral

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also called carbon neutrality is a term used to describe the action of organizations, businesses and individuals taking action to remove as much carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as each put in to it. The overall goal of carbon neutrality is to achieve a zero carbonfootprint.

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Passive Solar Design

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refers to the use of the sun's energy for the heating and cooling of living spaces. In this approach, the building itself or some element of it takes advantage of natural energy characteristics in materials and air created by exposure to the sun.

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Active Solar Energy

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Unlike passive solar heating, active solar heating uses mechanical and electrical equipment to enhance the conversion of solar energy to heat and electric power. A solar collector is a device used to absorb solar energy.

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Biofuels

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are energy sources made from living things, or the waste that living things produce. Supporters of biofuels argue that their use could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions; while burning the fuels produces carbon dioxide, growing the plants or biomass removes carbon diozide from the atmosphere.

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Geothermal Energy

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is the heat from the Earth. It's clean and sustainable. Resources of geothermal energy range from the shallow ground to hot water and hot rock found a few miles beneath the Earth's surface, and down even deeper to the extremely high temperatures of molten rock called magma.

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Point Source Pollution

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines point source pollution as “any single identifiable source of pollution from which pollutants are discharged, such as a pipe, ditch, ship or factory smokestack” (Hill, 1997). Factories and sewage treatment plants are two common types of point sources.

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Non-point Source Pollution

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Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution, unlike pollution from industrial and sewage treatment plants, comes from many diffuse sources. NPS pollution is caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground. As the runoff moves, it picks up and carries away natural and human-made pollutants, finally depositing them into lakes, rivers, wetlands, coastal waters and ground waters.

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PCBs

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Polychlorinated biphenyls. Context - Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are a group of man-made compounds that were widely used in the past, mainly in electrical equipment, but which were banned at the end of the 1970s in many countries because of environmental concerns.

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Acid Main Drainage

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Acid Mine Drainage (AMD) is currently the main pollutant of surface water in the mid-Atlantic region. AMD is caused when water flows over or through sulfur-bearing materials forming solutions of net acidity. AMD comes mainly from abandoned coal mines and currently active mining.

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Thermal Pollution

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Thermal pollution is 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.

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Clean Water Act

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The Clean Water Act (CWA) is the primary federal law in the United States governing water pollution.

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Safe Drinking Water Act

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The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the main federal law that ensures the quality of Americans' drinking water.Under SDWA, EPA sets standards for drinking water quality and oversees the states, localities, and water suppliers who implement those standards.